The Missed Chances: Victoria Climbie, Baby P, now Daniel Pelka – how could it happen again? – The Independent

Posted August 2nd, 2013 in child abuse, children, news, police, social services, teachers by sally

“On his last day of school, Daniel Pelka was desperate for food. While other children made shapes with play jelly, he tried to eat it. He plucked a half-eaten pear from a bin and then grubbed around in a sandpit for dried beans that he tried to eat. Two days later, the four-year-old was dead.”

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The Independent, 1st August 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Daniel Pelka murder: mother and stepfather face life sentences – The Guardian

Posted August 1st, 2013 in child abuse, murder, news, social services by sally

“The mother and stepfather of a four-year-old boy who was battered to death after being subjected to a six-month regime of starvation and physical torture will be jailed for life on Friday after being found guilty of murdering the boy, whose body was so emaciated that one experienced health worker compared it to that of a concentration camp victim.”

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The Guardian, 31st July 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Wasted costs against local authority in private law proceedings by James Hargan – Sovereign Chambers

“In HB, PB, and OB –v- London Borough of Croydon [2013] EWHC 1956 (Fam) Cobb J had to consider whether or not to make an order that a Local Authority which had been directed to file a section 37 report, and whose failure to do so properly had led to wasted costs, should pay those wasted costs of aborted days of hearing. The power to make such a costs order was in the discretion of the court (Senior Courts Act 1981 s51(1)) and, by reference to FPR 2010 28.1, the court could make such order as it thought just. The Local Authority was sufficiently closed connected with the litigation, and its failings were so serious, as to justify making what the court was urged to regard as an exceptional order.”

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Sovereign Chambers, 19th July 2013

Source: www.sovereignchambers.co.uk

Judicial review funding cuts may leave vulnerable teenagers at risk – The Guardian

Posted July 29th, 2013 in budgets, judicial review, news, social services, young persons by sally

“Hundreds of vulnerable teenagers will be at risk of harm or falling into prostitution under government plans to restrict judicial review, lawyers specialising in actions against local authorities have warned.”

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The Guardian, 29th July 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Cwmbran fire trial: Serious case review is called – BBC News

Posted July 22nd, 2013 in children, fire, local government, murder, news, police, sentencing, social services by sally

“A serious case review will be launched after three generations of the same family were murdered in a house fire.”

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BBC News, 19th July 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Inquiry launched after man is jailed for triple murder in house fire – The Guardian

“An inquiry has been launched into the contact the authorities had with a vulnerable family after a violent alcoholic man was jailed for at least 30 years for murdering his baby daughter, his girlfriend and her mother.”

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The Guardian, 18th July 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Michael Gove strips council of child protection powers – The Guardian

“A council has been stripped of its powers to provide child protection by the education secretary, Michael Gove, after the latest in a series of damning reports found its services could not overcome a persistent culture of ‘failure and disillusion’.”

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The Guardian, 16th July 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Fédération des maisons de repos privées de Belgique (Femarbel) ASBL v Commission communautaire commune de Bruxelles-Capitale – WLR Daily

Posted July 16th, 2013 in EC law, freedom of movement, health, law reports, social services by sally

Fédération des maisons de repos privées de Belgique (Femarbel) ASBL v Commission communautaire commune de Bruxelles-Capitale (Case C-57/12); [2013] WLR (D) 278

“On the proper interpretation of article 2(2)(f) of Parliament and Council Directive 2006/123/EC of 12 December 2006 on services in the internal market, the exclusion of healthcare services from the scope of the Directive covered any activity intended to assess, maintain or restore the state of health of patients, where that activity was carried out by healthcare professionals recognised as such by the member state concerned, regardless of the ways in which the facilities in which that care was provided were organised and financed or whether they were public or private. On the proper interpretation of article 2(2)(j) the exclusion of social services from the scope of that Directive included any activity relating, inter alia, to the care and assistance of elderly persons, where that activity was carried out by a private service provider which has been mandated by the state by means of an act conferring, in a clear and transparent manner, a genuine obligation to provide such services under specific conditions.”

WLR Daily, 11th July 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Tia Sharp murder: Agencies cleared of any blame – BBC News

Posted July 16th, 2013 in drug abuse, education, families, inquiries, murder, news, police, reports, social services by sally

“An inquiry into the welfare of murdered London schoolgirl Tia Sharp, who was killed by her grandmother’s partner, Stuart Hazell, has cleared the agencies involved of any blame.”

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BBC News, 15th July 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

How do we tackle institutional abuse of minors? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted July 4th, 2013 in child abuse, equality, local government, news, social services by sally

“In this piece I examine a difficult question. Is there now a need for a duty to have due regard to the need to eliminate abuse of minors over and above the welfare duty in s 11 of the Children Act 2004? (The question can be put in a number of different ways covering exploitation, abuse, and I have not tried to define precisely the social evil to be minimised).”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 3rd July 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Oxford sex grooming gang jailed for life – Daily Telegraph

“Members of an Oxford gang who groomed vulnerable young girls for sex, repeatedly raping them and threatening to kill them if they told anyone, have been jailed for life.”

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Daily Telegraph, 27th June 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

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Judges to explain benefit assessment decisions – BBC News

Posted June 21st, 2013 in appeals, benefits, disabled persons, judiciary, news, social services, tribunals by tracey

“Judges in England and Scotland are being asked to explain why they believe someone is unfit to work, in a move ministers hope will improve the decision-making process on benefits.”

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BBC News, 21st June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

CQC: too big a remit, too little funding? – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 19th, 2013 in hospitals, news, social services, standards by sally

“With a smaller budget than the watchdogs it replaced, the Care Quality Commission has had a struggle on its hands.”

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Daily Telegraph, 19th June 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

The Revised Public Law Outline …. and this time they mean it – Family Law Week

“Andrew Pack, care lawyer with Brighton & Hove City Council, explains and comments on the changes made by the recently published Revised Public Law Outline.”

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Family Law Week, 4th June 2013

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Insemination case: Chances missed to check on adopted daughter – BBC News

“A review into how a mother was able to force her adopted child to impregnate herself has found agencies missed opportunities to intervene.”

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BBC News, 5th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Rochdale Council leaders ‘let down’ groomed girls – BBC News

Posted May 28th, 2013 in local government, news, reports, sexual grooming, social services, victims by sally

“Former senior managers at Rochdale Borough Council did not do enough to stop the grooming and sexual abuse of children, a report has found.”

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BBC News, 24th May 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Report into Rochdale grooming a ‘damning indictment’ of council – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 24th, 2013 in children, local government, news, reports, sexual grooming, social services by tracey

“A new report into the child sex grooming scandal in Rochdale is a ‘damning indictment’ of the local council, the town’s MP said.”

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Daily Telegraph, 24th May 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Closing the loophole: Care services and human rights protection – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted May 23rd, 2013 in bills, care homes, elderly, human rights, news, social services by sally

“Much of the House of Lords debate surrounding yesterday’s Second Reading of the Care and Support Bill focused on seeking solutions to complex issues around the future provision of care. Additionally, as several peers flagged, the Bill also provides a timely opportunity to clarify which bodies have legal obligations to uphold protections under the Human Rights Act. Baroness Campbell noted ‘those who receive their care not from a public authority but from a private body lack the full protection of the Human Rights Act…[This] is a loophole that must be closed.'”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 22nd May 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Eoin Carolan: An oligarchy of the self-interest or enthusiastic?: Open Public Services in the Big Society – UK Constitutional Law Group

“The coalition government’s programme of public service reform continues apace. The coming into effect of parts of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 on April 1st was the latest in a series of changes to the structure and delivery of public services through measures like the Localism Act 2011 or the Free Schools programme. As the White Paper on Open Public Services indicates, these individual changes form part of a broader plan to fundamental re-model how Britain’s government operates. The White Paper is clear that this reform programme is wide-ranging and ambitious. What is less clear from government pronouncements, however, is whether or how it is intended to ensure the democratic legitimacy and character of the proposed reforms.”

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UK Constitutional Law Group, 29th April 2013

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Caldicott review: unlawful personal data processing and sharing should be reported as ‘data breach’ – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 30th, 2013 in data protection, health, news, reports, social services by sally

“Health and social care bodies should be required to publish details of cases where they have processed or shared patients’ personal data without having a legal basis to do so, Dame Fiona Caldicott has recommended.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 29th April 2013

Source: www.out-law.com