HC Deb 13 February 2004 vol 418 cc198-9W
Tim Loughton

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many fathers have been imprisoned in the last 30 years based on expert witness evidence of Munchausen syndrome by proxy. [152114]

The Solicitor-General

[holding answer 30 January 2004]: I have been asked to reply.

Neither the prison service nor the Crown Prosecution Service keeps records of cases in accordance with the type of expert evidence given at trial.

Since the release of Angela Cannings by the Court of Appeal and its published judgment, the Attorney General has instigated a number of measures. Over the last 10 years, a total of 258 convictions over the last 10 years for the murder, manslaughter or infanticide of a child under two by its parent have been identified. Of those, a total of 72 relate to persons still serving a custodial sentence. These will be accorded the utmost priority. Currently, some 365 boxes of evidence relating to 52 high priority cases have been recovered from central storage and dispatched to CPS areas for them to conduct an initial review. The remaining high priority cases are being recovered from the areas themselves.

Once the review becomes fully underway, the offences comprising the 258 convictions and the issue at trial will become clearer. Once that stage has been reached and more information is known on these cases it may be possible for me to write further to you with additional information that you seek.

Tim Loughton

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he received a letter from Jan Loxley-Blount warning of the occurrence of misdiagnosis of Munchausen syndrome by proxy and subsequent miscarriages of justice. [152029]

Margaret Hodge

The first correspondence from Jan Loxley-Blount that the Department for Education and Skills has on record is dated 17 May 2000.

Tim Loughton

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the term Munchausen syndrome by proxy changed to fabricated or induced illness; and what the reasons for the change were. [152030]

Margaret Hodge

The consultation document: "Safeguarding Children in Whom Illness is Fabricated or Induced" issued in June 2001 addressed this issue at paragraph 1.4The use of terminology to describe the fabrication or induction of illness in a child has been the subject of considerable debate between professionals. These differences of opinion may result in a loss of focus on the welfare of the child. In order to keep the child's safety and welfare as the primary focus of all professional activity, this Guidance refers to the 'fabrication or induction of illness in a child by a carer' rather than using a particular term. If, as a result of a carer's behaviour, there is concern that the child is likely to suffer significant harm, this guidance should be followed. The key issue is not what term to use to describe this type of abuse, but the impact of fabricated or induced illness on the child's health and development, and consideration of how best to safeguard the child's welfare.

Tim Loughton

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what measures he intends to put in place to reduce the numbers of parents wrongly accused of Munchausen syndrome by proxy; [152032]

(2) what measures he intends to put in place in social services to reduce the number of parents wrongly accused of Munchausen syndrome by proxy. [152132]

Margaret Hodge

The Government Guidance "Safeguarding Children in Whom Illness is Fabricated or Induced" was published in August 2002. It is supplementary guidance to "Working Together to Safeguard Children" (1999), the Government's interagency guidance on child protection. The Guidance

Children who started to be looked after during the years ending 31 March 1998 to 2002 by legal status on starting1—England
Numbers Percentages
Legal status 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 1998 1999 2001 2002
All children2 29,700 28,400 28,600 25,100 24,600 100 100 100 100 100
Care order 4,200 4,300 4,300 4,300 4,100 14 15 15 17 17
Interim care order 3,300 3,500 3,800 3,900 3,800 11 12 13 15 16
Full care order 910 880 510 450 270 3 3 2 2 1
Youth Justice legal statuses 1,600 1,400 1,300 840 720 5 5 5 3 3
On remand or committed for trial 1,400 1,200 1,200 760 680 5 4 4 3 3
Detained under PACE3 200 180 150 60 40 1 1 1 0 0
Supervision order 10 10 20 20 10 0 0 0 0 0
Detained for child protection 3,100 3,300 3,300 2,700 3,000 11 12 12 11 12
Police protection 1,500 1,500 1,600 1,500 1,600 5 5 6 6 7
Emergency protection order 1,600 1,800 1,700 1,300 1,400 6 6 6 5 6
Under child assessment order — 10 0 10 20 – 0 0 0 0
Freed for adoption 80 110 20 20 20 0 0 0 0 0
Voluntary agreement under S20 CA 1989 (single placements) 20,500 19,100 19,500 17,200 16,700 69 67 68 68 68
Others legal status 140 160 70 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
1 only the first occasion on which a child started to be looked after in the year has been counted.
2 Figures for children looked after in this table exclude agreed series of short-term placements.
3 Children detained in local authority accommodation under section 38(6)of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.