§ Mr. Conwayasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what representations he has had regarding the level of co-operation received by court-appointed guardians ad litem in care proceedings, from social services officials in protecting their charges.
§ Mr. WhitneyNo formal representations have been received and we have no reason to believe that guardians ad litem are not receiving full co-operation from social services departments.
Comments received during 1985 on how the guardian ad litem arrangements were working in practice included some general references to the need for guardians ad litem to have access to records, and the Department, when a circular was issued on 3 February this year about the arrangements, took the opportunity to include a reminder to local authorities that they are expected to allow guardians ad litem access to their records.