§ Mr. DevlinTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to monitor the response of the social services department in Cleveland to the criticisms made by the report of the inquiry into child abuse in Cleveland 1987.
§ Mr. MellorI have called for and received from the leader of the Cleveland county council an account of the measures being taken to ensure that the events in Cleveland never happen again. I have asked the social services inspectorate to undertake an immediate inspection of the current policies and procedures in Cleveland county council for responding to possible or actual cases of child sexual abuse.
The inspection will centre on the investigation of a sample of children recently referred to the social services department where sexual abuse has been suspected or alleged. The focus will be primarily on the arrangements within the social services department but will also take 220W account of the relationships with the health authorities, police and other agencies. These terms of reference and the arrangements from the inspection have been agreed with the local authority. The social services inspectorate will report by the end of November.