Archive for inquiry
“Public inquiries are failing to restore public confidence and have ‘little impact’ on reforms, according to the former chairman of the Soham inquiry.”
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The Guardian, 15th September 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
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The following article by Stephen Naysmith appeared on the Herald Scotland website on the 8th March
Anger at Abuse Panel
The chair of a panel set up to acknowledge and record accounts of abuse in residential child care has defended the approach over fears it will exclude some victims.
Tom Shaw, former Chief Inspector of Education & Training in Northern Ireland, is to head up a three person pilot forum, dubbed Time to be Heard. The forum will invite 100 former residents of homes run by the charity Quarriers to come forward and tell their stories, to test the ...
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There is a very interesting article in the Times (26th May 2009) by David Sharrock, Ireland Correspondent regarding the Catholic Church in Ireland’s refusal to increase the amount they are agreed to contribute towards the cost of compensating victims of alleged child abuse.
The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland has clashed with the religious orders involved in child abuse over the amount they are willing to contribute towards compensating victims. Eighteen Catholic congregations defied calls from Cardinal Sean Brady to be more generous in their dealings with those who suffered abuse.
Pressure has been building on the Catholic hierarchy to do something ...
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Following publication of the Ryan Report L.O.V.E. (Let Our Voices Emerge) have published the following statement.
The charity ‘Let Our Voices Emerge’ held an AGM last night. While we have always voiced our support for the Religious Congregations through the years, on foot of what we see are unpreceedented revelations of records that the Catholic Church covered up and the Leaderships did not reveal to us over the years of our support, while we still stand by the individual managers who were let down by the system,we now withdraw our support of the Religious Congregations.
Through our own experience in the Industrial ...
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The Ryan Commission have published their report into alleged historical abuse at religious institutions in Ireland. It makes grim reading with very little coverage of the extent to which any of the claims made were false. The full report can be downloaded here.
View the Executive Summary in accessible HTML format.
View the Commission Report in accessible HTML format.
Download the Executive Summary in PDF format
Download the Commission Report in PDF format
Background:
Establishment of the Commission
The Commission was established on 23 May, 2000, pursuant to the “Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse Act 2000” and given three primary functions:
to hear evidence of abuse from persons who allege they ...
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A damming report yesterday revealed years of “significant failures” in management and a “macho” culture at a school for troubled youngsters rocked by an abuse scandal.
Kerelaw Residential School in Ayrshire faced hundreds of alleged cases of physical and sexual abuse from its former pupils dating back to the 1990s.
Pupils’ claims ranged from suffering sexual abuse to being restrained by “bouncing somebody off the wall, twisting their arm up their back or putting pressure on joints”, according to an independent report.
The inquiry concluded “physical abuse (by staff] was prevalent”, and found that “staggering” factionalism and inappropriate relationships among staff contributed to ...
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An inquiry into a school for vulnerable youngsters hit by child abuse allegations has reported “significant failures” in management.
The Kerelaw Residential Unit in Stevenson, Ayrshire, was closed in 2006 following a police investigation.
In 2007 the Scottish Government asked former civil servant Eddie Frizzell to carry out an independent investigation.
His report said physical abuse was “prevalent” at the school but for years no study was done of what was going on.
He said there were major failings in Glasgow City Council’s stewardship of the residential facility.
The report said: “Overall there was a significant failure in leadership and management that led to the ...
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Kerelaw Report – initial response from UNISON
UNISON, the union representing the social care staff working in the Kerelaw residential school, today agreed with the general trend of the conclusions and recommendations of the Frizzell report – particularly the criticisms of the council’s own earlier investigations.
Ronnie Stevenson Convenor of UNISON’s Glasgow City Branch Social Work stewards said:
“While it will take us some time to look in full at the 154 page report from Mr Frizzell, our preliminary view is that we find ourselves in agreement with the general trend of its conclusions and recommendations.
“We particularly welcome his criticisms of the Investigatory Team’s ...
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The joint independent inquiry on Kerelaw Residential School and Secure Unit has returned its findings.
Commissioned by both Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government, the inquiry team led by Eddie Frizzell has published a comprehensive report on events at Kerelaw in the run up to its closure between 2004 and 2006.
The inquiry had been asked to examine the circumstances that led to the abuse of children at Kerelaw over a number of years, appraise the Council’s stewardship of the school since taking charge in 1996, to consider the Council’s own internal investigation into Kerelaw and to assess what steps the ...
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Some what predictably the Laming report into child protection services which was established following the tragic death of baby P in Harrigey called for a step change in leadership and practice to protect children.
The far-reaching report, The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report, was commissioned by the Children’s Secretary Ed Balls in November 2008 following the death of Baby P.Key Recommendations include:-
Directors of children‘s services with no child protection experience should appoint an experienced social work manager to support them.
• The government should provide child protection training for council leaders and senior managers.
• The government should ensure social ...
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There have been two reports on the Bichard Report which may be of interest to the fasely accused.
The lessons of Soham inspired by the spirit of Salem
Published by the Times
Soham inquiry changes ‘not made’
Published by BBC
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An independent inquiry is to be held into a school for vulnerable youngsters hit by allegations of child abuse.The Kerelaw Residential Unit in Stevenson, Ayrshire, was closed in 2006 following a police investigation.
The inquiry, jointly commissioned by the government and Glasgow City Council, will make recommendations to help prevent similar abuse in future.
Adam Ingram, minister for children, told MSPs that lessons had to be learned from what happened.
Last year, two men were found guilty of physically and sexually abusing children in their care at Kerelaw, which looked after children with significant emotional, social and behavioural problems.
Source: BBC
See also: Ministerial ...
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Sir Roy Meadow, one of the country’s leading experts on child abuse, gave erroneous and misleading evidence in the trial of Sally Clark which helped to convict her of murdering her two sons, the General Medical Council ruled yesterday. A disciplinary panel found that Professor Meadow, 72, failed in his duty as an expert witness to explain the limited relevance of his findings when giving evidence in Mrs Clark’s prosecution in 1999. The paediatrician told the solicitor’s murder trial that the chances of two babies suffering cot death within an affluent family was 1 in 73 million. In his testimony ...
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The police investigation into sexual abuse at Penketh boys’ home Greystone Heath has been called into question by BBC1′s Panorama.The programme, which was screened on Sunday night, focused on the conviction of Roy Shuttleworth, who was jailed for 10 years in 1996 for indecent assaults and serious sexual assaults on seven boys.
Source:This is Cheshire
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For decades, children in care have suffered the horror of sexual abuse. Police investigations to catch sex abusers in care homes have spread throughout Britain, with 90 separate inquiries currently underway, and more than 2,000 care workers under suspicion. The size and scale of inquiries is producing concern amongst some MP’s. As the police try to bring the guilty to justice, David Rose asks whether some innocent men are being falsely accused and imprisoned.
BBC
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The Catholic Church in England and Wales yesterday attempted to head off mounting allegations of child sex abuse by priests by calling in Lord Nolan, the former judge who investigated standards in public life for Parliament, to conduct a review of its procedures for dealing with accusations.
Guardian
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