These are the latest child welfare items that should be right on your radar:

• Landmark family court judgment confirms anyone can use the title ‘psychologist’
• 40% rise in number of social workers quitting children’s posts annually over past five years
• Legal age of marriage in England and Wales rises to 18

Welcome to another week.

The Children and Families Truth Commission  (CFCTC) published the first ever human rights-focused survey for children and families going through Britain’s child protection system in November, and the deadline for completing the questionnaire is tomorrow.

The survey will stop accepting submissions on Tuesday 28th February, 2023, so please access it before midnight of the 28th if you’re planning on completing it.

Produced in collaboration with child-protection experienced parents, it has received hundreds of responses so far and will be used to investigate which families’ and children’s human rights have been violated by the child protection system, and how they are being violated.

The survey asks families in Britain about their experiences of children’s social care and the courts, including times when they felt that their human rights were not supported. It uses clear and straightforward language.

The commission created this survey so that it can better understand which human rights are being breached inside the system, and how it can stop those rights from being breached.

If you are a child or child-protection experienced parent or relative and you have some time to spare, we would love you to complete the survey. The more feedback we get the more we can understand the problems, so please help us ramp up the survey responses if you can by filling it out or sharing with your groups.

If you have any questions about, or problems with, the survey, you are very welcome to email the Commission at truthcommissionuk@gmail.com

You can access the survey here: https://bham.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3ZTjBjnJPwukVbE 

These are the latest forced adoption developments that should be right on your radar:

• Woman makes history filing the first lawsuit over alleged forced adoption [Paywall] (Tasmania)
• Adoptee Sandra D Moon is taking back her birth name and reclaiming her lost identity (Australia)
• Joanna Cherry: Forced adoption has caused so much pain for families (UK)

A researcher at the university of Sheffield is looking to produce research with people who have experience of the care system and child criminal exploitation.

Danica Darley is working on her PhD at the university, and is focusing her research on the experiences of children who have been in care and have been affected by child criminal exploitation. Darley says in her Twitter bio that she is a mother with prison experience.

The tweet, shared on Wednesday, says she is recruiting co-researchers who have experience of the care system and child criminal exploitation to work alongside her on her project.

She is looking for 3 people aged between 18 and 30 who are happy to work for 7 hours a week, for a maximum of 8 months. She is offering £15.76 per hour and the opportunity to complete a Level 2 NVQ in peer research methods.

Darley says you can contact her by:

Emailing her at djmdarley1@sheffield.ac.uk

Tweeting her @danicadarley1

or

Instagramming her at @cce_peerresearch

The government has announced a raft of measures which it says will better protect victims of domestic abuse (intimate partner violence).

The announcement was made on 20th February, and as we are a little pressed for time this week, we’re adding the press release in full below. We are concerned that it only mentions protection for “women and girls”, when we know boys can also be affected, as can men.

Domestic abusers will face tags and tougher management under new measures to protect women and girls.

The new proposals go further than ever before in protecting women and girls from harassment, aggression and violence, and focus on stopping domestic abuse before it takes place.

The law will be changed so that the most dangerous domestic abusers will be watched more closely. For the first time, controlling or coercive behaviour will be put on a par with physical violence, which will mean offenders sentenced to a year or more imprisonment or a suspended sentence will automatically be actively managed by the police, prison and probation services under multi-agency public protection arrangements. A range of agencies will have a legal duty to cooperate to manage the risks posed by these dangerous offenders. This will make it easier to deliver a joined-up approach to protect the public.

While we are pursuing this legislation, police and the probation service will start work immediately to ensure that from now offenders sentenced to a year or more for controlling and coercive behaviour are recorded on the violent and sex offender register, so that they don’t fall through the cracks.

In addition, abusers could be fitted with a tag, prevented from going within a certain distance of a victim’s home, and made to attend a behaviour change programme, as part of a trial of domestic abuse protection notices and domestic abuse protection orders in three areas in the UK.

Also from today (20 February), those at risk of, or suffering from, domestic abuse will be able to receive emergency help from one of 18 jobcentres and jobs and benefit offices across the UK, and a new postcode checker will tell them their nearest location to access the service.

The Ask for ANI (Action Needed Immediately) scheme is already in operation in over 5,000 pharmacies across the UK in over 88 cities, towns and villages. It is delivered in partnership with Hestia’s Safe Spaces. Anyone who is suffering from or fearful of domestic abuse can ask for ANI, and they will be guided to a safe and private space and offered support to call the police or specialist domestic abuse services.

Since the scheme launched in 2021, the emergency support has been accessed on average once a week.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

No woman or girl should ever have to feel unsafe in her home or community and I am determined to stamp out these appalling crimes.

The Ask for Ani scheme provides a lifeline for anyone suffering from domestic abuse and we will continue to expand the scheme so that more people can access it, including piloting this service in the first jobcentres.

As well as extra support for victims, we’re making it a priority for the police to tackle violence against women and girls and toughening up the way offenders are managed – preventing more of these crimes from happening in the first place, and bringing more perpetrators to justice.

Government will also require police forces to treat violence against women and girls as a national threat, as set out in a new strategic policing requirement published today. This means tackling these crimes will be as important as tackling threats like terrorism, serious and organised crime and child sexual abuse.

On top of this, the National Police Chiefs’ Council is writing to every force in England and Wales to reiterate the expectation that forces must proactively identify the most dangerous domestic abusers in their area to prevent them from committing further crimes. To support this, the Home Office will help develop a new risk assessment tool so that police forces can quickly identify domestic abusers most likely to commit the greatest harm – even where they have no conviction – and stop them in their tracks.

Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, said:

Domestic abuse is a despicable crime that leads to people’s closest relationships becoming a frightening existence of torment, pain, fear, and anxiety.

It is completely unacceptable and as Home Secretary I will do everything in my power to stop it.

The wide-ranging measures announced today will mean the most dangerous offenders will be watched more closely and added to the violent and sex offender register.

Also, police forces in England and Wales will now have to treat violence against women and girls as a national threat and more victims will be protected from harm.

The full set of measures being set out today include:

1. Tougher management of the most dangerous offenders: The government will change the law to ensure that offenders with a conviction of controlling or coercive behaviour who are sentenced to 12 months or more imprisonment or a suspended sentence are automatically eligible to be managed by the police, prison and probation services under multi-agency public protection arrangements. This means agencies will have a legal duty to cooperate to manage the risks posed by these dangerous domestic abuse offenders. These offenders will also be added to the violent and sex offender register going forward.
2. Piloting new civil orders: The Home Office and Ministry of Justice will pilot the new domestic abuse protection notices and orders in Gwent, Greater Manchester, and three London boroughs (Croydon, Bromley and Sutton), with the Metropolitan Police, British Transport Police, and other criminal justice partners. The new cross-jurisdictional order will provide flexible, longer-term protection for victims. The court will be able to impose requirements such as attendance on perpetrator behaviour change programmes, alongside electronic monitoring and making it mandatory for offenders to notify the police of name and address changes. Breach of any requirement will be a criminal offence.
3. Ask for ANI codeword scheme pilot: Building on the success of the scheme in pharmacies across the UK, domestic abuse victims will be able to ‘Ask for ANI’ in 18 jobcentre and jobs and benefit offices through a pilot launching today across the UK, and receive support from a trained staff member who will guide them to a safe and private space, where they can help a victim call the police or support services. A new postcode checker has also been launched today to enable anyone to find their nearest participating pharmacy, jobcentre or jobs and benefits office.
4. Adding violence against women and girls to the strategic policing requirement: The Home Secretary has published the new strategic policing requirement, which for the first time categorises violence against women and girls as a national threat and sets clear expectations about how this threat should be tackled by police forces.
5. Identifying dangerous perpetrators before conviction: The government will develop a new digital tool which will use police data to identify individuals who are high risk and likely to commit domestic abuse offences. The tool will also include perpetrators without conviction – in the year ending March 2022 there were 910,980 domestic abuse-related crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales, compared to 40,647 convictions.
6. Strengthening Clare’s Law: We have published new guidance which reduces the timeframes for police to disclose information about an individual’s violent or abusive behaviour, through the scheme known as Clare’s Law, meaning it will be quicker to access information on a partner’s or ex-partner’s previous abusive or violent offending. The guidance will be placed on a statutory footing next month (March 2023).
7. Funding specialist victim support programmes: Up to £8.4 million will be allocated over two years to fund projects run by specialist organisations to provide tailored, trauma-informed support from 1 April 2023.
8. Investing in perpetrator interventions: police and crime commissioners (PCCs) will be granted up to £36 million over the next two years for tackling perpetrators through interventions which directly address abusers’ behaviour, bringing total funding for these projects to more than £70 million since 2020.

In April 2021, the landmark Domestic Abuse Act updated the definition of domestic abuse, recognising it refers to a range of abusive behaviour – physical, sexual, violent or threatening, psychological, emotional and coercive or controlling acts are now recognised as criminal abuse.

For the first time, the Act recognised children as victims, and economic abuse as a form of domestic abuse. It established a statutory duty on local authorities relating to the provision of support to victims and survivors and their children within safe accommodation which was supported by £125 million worth of funding, and created new offences of non-fatal strangulation and threats to disclose intimate images.

Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) remains one of the government’s top priorities and we are doing everything possible to make our streets safer for women and girls. Through our tackling VAWG strategy, we are prioritising prevention, supporting survivors, and strengthening the pursuit of perpetrators.

This includes measures in the Online Safety Bill to strengthen the law around the sending and sharing of intimate images without consent, and committing to introduce a package of new offences when Parliamentary time allows that tackle the taking and sharing of these vile images – which will include downblousing.

The government is also supporting the Protection from Sex Based Harassment in Public Bill, which introduces harsher sentences if someone who deliberately harasses, alarms, or distresses someone in a public place does so because of the victim’s sex, with the maximum sentence increasing from six months to two years.

Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Dominic Raab said:

Domestic abuse is an abhorrent crime which can make people’s lives a living hell and we will do whatever we can to bring these offenders to justice.

This new plan will crack down on those carrying out this abuse with tougher monitoring of offenders, including electronic tagging, while investing millions more in specialist support services for the most vulnerable.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mel Stride said:

As safe spaces with strong links to the wider community, DWP jobcentres are uniquely placed to help vulnerable people access help on a local or national level.

Ask for ANI provides victims with a discreet route to get urgent help and is an important part of the extensive support offer already in place nationally across our network.

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Domestic Abuse, Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, said:

Policing is committed to protecting victims of domestic abuse and bringing perpetrators to justice. We welcome the raft of measures aimed at tackling domestic abuse in many forms.

Adding violence against women and girls to the strategic policing requirement, puts it on the same level of priority at terrorism and child abuse, where we believe it belongs. All forces are already prioritising VAWG and we welcome this prioritisation from the government.

Domestic abuse is a complex and entrenched societal problem and requires a multi-agency approach. Providing support for victims and their families and to introduce effective and sustainable solutions for perpetrators is vital.

We will work together with the Home Office to ensure the measures announced today can aid policing and the criminal justice system in their fight to tackle domestic abuse.

Caroline Bernard, Head of Influence at Respect, said:

Respect welcomes these additional measures to respond to perpetrators of violence against women and girls, including domestic abuse. They echo our calls to address the root cause, as well as the consequences of violence and abuse.

In particular, we are pleased to see that violence against women and girls will be added to the strategic policing requirement. Implemented effectively and resourced appropriately, this could have a major impact on the policing response to perpetrators of VAWG.

We look forward to working with government to ensure that these additional measures are delivered successfully alongside the tackling domestic abuse plan, so that survivors of domestic abuse can be safe and free from harm.

Today’s announcements sit alongside wider work the government is doing to tackle domestic abuse. Since the publication of the tackling domestic abuse plan the government has:

doubled funding for the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, which sees on average 15,000 users every three months, and an uplift for all other national tackling VAWG helplines, to a combined total of over £2 million a year

launched a new communications campaign, ‘Enough’ to change societal attitudes towards domestic abuse and violence against women and girls, taking long term actions to prevent violence and encourage bystander intervention. The campaign includes online information at enough.campaign.gov.uk, television adverts, billboard signs, social media posts and radio advertisements highlighting the different actions we can all take to challenge perpetrators of abuse

committed over £79 million since 2020 for domestic abuse perpetrator interventions and research which includes up to £36 million over the next two years for interventions which is the first time we are providing multi-year funding to tackle perpetrators
introduced new measures in our Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, which will give victims of domestic abuse longer to report offences to the police so that abusers cannot evade justice

as part of quadrupling funding for victim and witness support services by 2024/25, up from £41m in 2009/10, we have also committed increase the number of independent sexual and domestic abuse advisors by 300 to over 1,000 – a 43% increase over the next three years
Ask for ANI

A postcode checker is available at gov.uk/ask-for-ani where victims can check their nearest Ask for ANI location, including pharmacies, jobcentres and jobs and benefits offices.

Training materials and further information for pharmacies on Ask for ANI is available.

Information on the support available to victims of domestic abuse and other VAWG harms is available.

Ask for ANI is delivered in partnership with Hestia’s Safe Spaces, a safe and confidential room where victims can take some time to reflect, access information on specialist support services or call friends or family. Safe Spaces are available anywhere Ask for ANI is offered.
The Ask for ANI scheme is being rolled out in the following jobcentres and jobs and benefit offices:

Ellesmere Port
Warrington
Crewe
Blackburn
Preston
Carlisle
Birkenhead
St Helens
Merthyr Tydfil
Barry
Newport Charles Street
Arbroath
Peterhead
Dunfermline
Armagh
Andersonstown
Larne
Lisnagelvin

DWP domestic abuse support already in offer across jobcentres:

DWP supports victims of domestic abuse to claim benefits through a range of measures. These include giving split payments when requested, relaxing benefit conditions, making referrals to local support, arranging special provisions for temporary accommodation, and signposting to expert third-party support;

Since 2017, DWP have delivered mandatory training to staff on how to identify domestic abuse, offer support to those experiencing abuse and check that the abuse has been reported to the courts, police or social services; and

All customers are asked if they have experienced or witnessed domestic abuse, or if they feel their claim will put them in danger. Staff will then signpost them to immediate help including Victim Support and the Forced Marriage Unit. If they are in immediate danger, jobcentre staff will phone the police.

These are the latest forced adoption developments that should be right on your radar:

• McGowan government commits to inquiry into forced adoptions in Western Australia
• McGowan reveals his family link to forced adoptions
• Forced Adoption: New Western Australia Child Protection Minister Sabine Winton commits to inquiry

Welcome to another week.

These are the latest family court items that should be right on your radar:

• Family court chief admits learning disability should not automatically lead to child removal (speech)
• Reopening findings of fact: fairness of hearing in a family court case
• Nightingale Courts to remain open to boost capacity and speed up justice

These are the latest child welfare items that should be right on your radar:

• Met police officer accused of domestic violence tries to challenge contact restriction for wife on human rights grounds
• Cost of living forces domestic violence victims to stay with abusers
• Banksy stands up to domestic violence with new Valentine’s Day mural in coastal Kent town

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) has released its latest round of decisions about child welfare complaints the watchdog received.

This time round the complaints appear to be focused on concerns about SEND provisions, and unlike previous months, very few complaints involve family court cases. This may be down to the ombudsman’s repeated warnings that it will not investigate the vast majority of such complaints, because, it says, they involve legal proceedings which the watchdog cannot interfere with.

The ombudsman also publishes this notice with each set of complaints it shares:

“Please note: our decisions are published six weeks after they are issued to councils, care providers and the person who has made the complaint. The cases below reflect the caselaw and guidance available at the time of issue and the individual circumstances of each case.”

Below are summaries and links to the complaints and their outcomes:

Surrey County Council (22 000 826)

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to deliver provisions set out in her son, Y’s, Education, Health and Care plans between September 2020 and March 2022. She also complained about how it handled her complaint.

London Borough of Sutton (21 018 713)

Summary: We uphold Mx X’s complaint that the Council has failed to reply to their complaint within its Children Act statutory complaints’ procedure. The Council has now agreed to complete the next stage of the procedure.

Derby City Council (22 009 815)

Summary: We uphold Miss X’s complaint that the Council has failed to reply to her complaint within its Children Act statutory complaints’ procedure. The Council has now agreed to complete the procedure.

Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council (22 011 720)

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s opinion of her child’s father’s care of her child. The Council’s assessment has formed part of legal proceedings.

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (22 001 439)

Summary: Mrs B complained the Council failed to provide her grandchild, C, with education, and education, health, and care provision. We found fault with the Council. It failed to assess the amount of home tuition C could access and delayed providing cognitive behaviour therapy which in turn, delayed her return to school. This left C without any education provision for six weeks. We consider the financial remedy the Council offered during its complaint investigation a suitable remedy for the injustice caused to Mrs B and C.

Somerset County Council (22 004 107)

Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to arrange the provision set out in her son’s Education, Health and Care Plan. The Council was at fault. This meant Mrs X’s son missed out on specialist support and Mrs X had to go to time and trouble contacting the Council and specialist providers. The Council has agreed to apologise, pay Mrs X £2400 in recognition of the lost provision and £150 for the time and trouble she went to. It will also make improvements to its service to prevent the fault occurring again.

Hertfordshire County Council (22 005 273)

Summary: Ms X complains the Council did not put in place occupational therapy provision for her child. The Council was at fault for failing to put in place the occupational therapy provision specified in the child’s Education Health and Care plan. This caused injustice as the child did not receive the provision they were entitled to and Ms X spent a significant time pursuing this with the Council. The Council agreed to our recommendations to remedy the injustice caused.

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (22 006 554)

Summary: Mrs X complained that due to a series of errors her son was left without a suitable school placement when term began in September 2021 and was unable to start school until December 2021. The Council’s delays and failings in the admissions and EHC process amount to fault as does the Council’s failure to ensure Y received an education and the provision specified in his EHC plan between September and December 2021.These faults have caused Mrs X and Y an injustice.

Kent County Council (22 007 503)

Summary: The Council failed to consider the totality of school placement and transport costs when an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan was amended to name a new school. It therefore failed to consider eligibility for school transport for a child with an EHC plan by applying the correct legal test (‘the Dudley test’). This casts doubt on the decision reached. The Council will reconsider the transport application in line with the Dudley test and provide a fresh written decision and right of appeal.

Isle of Wight Council (22 007 960)

Summary: Miss B complained the Council failed to secure alternative educational provision for her son or the provision in his education, health and care plan when he was out of school. She said this put a strain on the family and caused distress. We ended our investigation as the matters complained about were not separable from the SEND tribunal process and therefore out of our jurisdiction.

Northumberland County Council (22 010 947)

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s home to school transport policy. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

London Borough of Barking & Dagenham (22 012 562)

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about an unsuccessful appeal for a school place. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault and so we cannot question the merits of the panel’s decision.

Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council (22 009 144)

Summary: Mr W complains about a number of issues in relation to the Council’s engagement with him and his child. This includes matters such as child contact arrangements and personal care hours which were subject to legal proceedings. Central to Mr W’s complaint however is the Council’s alleged refusal to consider these complaints further once legal proceedings concluded. He is also dissatisfied about matters in relation to medication procedures and how a complaint for social housing was internally dealt with by the Council. We have discontinued our investigation because we do not have jurisdiction to investigate a number of the complaints. We also cannot add anything further to what the Council has undertaken to do.

Surrey County Council (22 004 034)

Summary: Mrs L complains in respect of her daughter (Young Person X) who has special educational needs (SEN). The Council maintains an EHCP for Young Person X which identifies what support she needs to meet her SEN. Mrs L complains in respect of the contents of the EHCP, a failure to provide specific EHCP provision, as well as how this was handled internally as a complaint by the Council. We found the Council failed to maintain oversight over whether Young Person X’s EHCP provision was being delivered. This meant the Council failed to provide part of the EHCP provision. The Council also gave misleading and inaccurate information to Mrs L as regards to who was responsible for providing Young Person X’s EHCP provision. We have no jurisdiction to investigate the contents of Young Person X’s EHCP because Mrs L appealed to a tribunal in respect of these issues. Nevertheless, Young Person X and Mrs L suffered an injustice by reason of the failings identified. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to remedy this.

London Borough of Wandsworth (22 011 877)

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about alleged fault in the process of reviewing and issuing the complainant’s son’s Education Health and Care Plan. This is because the complaint is late and there are no grounds for us to consider it now.

Manchester City Council (22 009 883)

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about Manchester City Council and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust’s support to her son, Mr Y, after 2013. That is because Mrs X appealed to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal in 2013. Also, a significant amount of time has passed since the events complained about which impacts on our ability to consider the complaint about the Trust.

Bracknell Forest Council (22 003 230)

Summary: The complainant (Mrs X) said the Council’s failed to follow due process when reviewing her son’s (Y) Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). She also said the Council failed to provide Y with full-time education, consistently deliver special educational provisions (SEP) identified in his EHCP, make payments to Y’s tutors as agreed and effectively communicate with the parents. I found fault with all aspects of Mrs X’s complaint. The Council agreed to pay the outstanding invoices for the ABA tutoring, continue funding his ABA tutoring until Mrs X’s appeal is resolved by the Tribunal and make a distress payment for Mrs X. It also agreed to complete some service improvements.

These are the latest SEND child welfare items that should be right on your radar:

• Ministry of Justice widens scope of legal aid to cover looked-after children with SEN
• Hertfordshire SEND support in ‘crisis’ as Hemel mum compares system to an ‘abusive relationship’
• SEND parents call for resignation of Worcester Children First chief