“The possibility that William caused these fractures himself is in my judgment established. The medical opinion is that it is so, albeit that they agree that they consider it improbable.”
“I have formed the conclusion that their [scil, the parents’] evidence has not been shaken. I prefer the evidence of Mrs Ward to that of Ms A [the social worker] concerning the interview on 22 July.”
“There is no cogent evidence that these parents injured their son. I am accordingly not satisfied that the significant harm suffered by him was due to him not having received the care to be expected for a reasonable parent.”
“perhaps not surprising that in the end no party, and in particular neither parent, argued that I should place any reliance on [his] evidence. Nor would I have done. I formed the clear view that he was unwise and unprofessional in his initial response to Mrs Ward’s email, and that he failed to be guided by the duty of professional detachment that the court requires of experts.”
“It was – correctly – common ground between counsel that: (i) The care proceedings in relation to William having come to an end, the restrictions imposed bys 97(2) of the Children Act 1989 no longer operate: Clayton v Clayton[2006] EWCA Civ 878 ,[2006] Fam 83 ,[2007] 1 FLR 11 . (ii) The only relevant statutory restrictions are those imposed bys 12 of the Administration of Justice Act 1960 . (iii) Section 12, although it … imposes restrictions upon discussion of the facts and evidence in the case, does not prevent publication of the names of the parties, the child or the witnesses: Re B (A Child) (Disclosure)[2004] EWHC 411 (Fam) ,[2004] 2 FLR 142 . (iv) Accordingly, unless I agree to exercise the ‘disclosure jurisdiction’ (see Re B (A Child) (Disclosure)[2004] EWHC 411 (Fam) ,[2004] 2 FLR 142 , at [84]) [nothing] … (to the extent that it contains … material the disclosure of which would otherwise constitute a breach ofs 12 of the Administration of Justice Act 1960 ) can be published, and unless I decide to exercise the ‘restraint jurisdiction’ there will be nothing to prevent the public identification of the social workers, the police officer, the treating doctors and the expert witnesses.”
“when I agreed to assist in these care proceedings, it was on the clear understanding that all correspondence, reports and evidence would be treated as confidential to the court.”
“I knew that as care proceedings were likely, the identity of those named in the family court evidence or judgment would remain unknown.”
“I am very concerned at the prospect of being named because I felt, and feel, that my professional reputation and, more importantly, my professional credibility and, therefore, eligibility to continue to assist as an expert witness in future cases, whether on behalf of a child or an authority, would be compromised by what I have reason to believe would be a one-sided account of my involvement … any allegation that I am in some way ‘anti-parent’ would be grossly unfair and inaccurate.”
“If doctors are to be subjected to ‘trial by media’ each time there is a difference of opinion or the court finds against their opinion, I believe that there will be a great reluctance for any doctor to give evidence.”
“clinicians who are subjected to the sort of sustained attacks (that this website is but a sample) have little in the way of an effective remedy. Even if were practical for them to do so, they could not contradict the allegations made against them, because of their ongoing professional and ethical duty of confidentiality.”
“They did a survey of almost 300 people who were attending a meeting, professionals across the whole of the spectrum, and this is what these people had been exposed to: a third to violence; two-thirds to threats; even more than that to intimidation; and a third to complaints. Specific examples were: “The violent and abusive father of four children who were taken into care threatened someone with death.” “The man said if the children were not returned to his care he would shoot me and my family, verbally threatened me and my children to the extent that the police were involved.” “With a colleague in the interview, the client got an axe out.” “A man produced a gun.” “I’ve been attacked with scissors and a knife, physically assaulted in court and attacked by a father of an emotionally abused child.”
“I am concerned that if I am identified, either I or my family may be targeted. I have children and an elderly parent and do not want to expose them to any risk that may arise from simply doing my job, which at the end of the day is designed to protect vulnerable children. I am aware of certain groups on the internet who identify doctors involved in child protection work, and I am aware of a considerable amount of hostility towards some specific paediatricians, and possibly paediatricians in general, who they perceive as ‘playing god’ with families in situations where there are unexplained injuries or other forms of abuse. I do not want to be identified in this case as I am concerned that I will be perceived as one of those paediatricians and subjected to harassment as a result. I must emphasise that I have no concerns whatever about Mr and Mrs Ward’s taking action against me. I do not believe they would do anything like that. However, I am concerned that if they publicise their case, and as part of that I am identified, other members of the public may try and seek me out through a misguided sense of vengeance or hostility.”
“If you believe a patient to be a victim of neglect or physical, sexual or emotional abuse and that the patient cannot give or withhold consent to disclosure, you must give information promptly to an appropriate responsible person or statutory agency, where you believe that the disclosure is in the patients’ best interests.”
“the key test for reporting a case to the social service department … under s 47 is a reasonable belief that there is a real risk of ‘significant harm’.”
“The position remains as set out in the statement of Gordon Jeyes … We take no issue with Mrs Ward’s application other than that, if the Court decides to lift Section 12, then we wish to preserve the anonymity of our social care staff.”
“The most careful scrutiny on the part of the Court is called for when … the measures taken or sanctions imposed by the national authority are capable of discouraging the participation of the press in debates over matters of legitimate public concern.”
“Nothing in [Part XI] permits the communication to the public at large, or any section of the public, of any information relating to the proceedings.”
“In my judgment rule 4.23 does not apply to this letter. More generally, rule 4.23 does not apply to such letters merely because they are included in a bundle of correspondence prepared for use in the proceedings, nor merely because they are included in an exhibit to an affidavit or witness statement filed with the court.”
“There is no suggestion anywhere that it was a contempt of court to publish information about the ward herself, be it favourable or adverse, helpful or injurious to her. But there are cases to show that it was a contempt of court to publish information relating to the proceedings in court about a ward … When the court … sat in private to hear wardship proceedings, the very sitting in private carried with it a prohibition forbidding publication of anything that took place, save only for the formal order made by the judge or an accurate summary of it [emphasis in original].”
“the prohibition would, I think, apply, not only to information given to the judge at the actual hearing, but also to confidential reports submitted beforehand by the Official Solicitor, or social workers, or the like.”
“[The judge] construed the statutory words “information relating to proceedings before a court sitting in private” as having a wider meaning than information relating to an actual or imminent hearing. Indeed, he construed the words so as to include information about the ward irrespective of whether the information related to a hearing or not. He accepted that there was no reported case at common law which went further than to declare an account of the proceedings (or of the order made) to be a contempt; but, bearing in mind the nature of wardship, he interpreted “proceedings” as meaning “a continuing state of affairs for as long as the wardship lasts.”
“what is meant by “proceedings”? Obviously a report of the actual hearing before the judge or part of it is included. But the words must include more than that; otherwise it would have been unnecessary to use the expression “information relating to proceedings … ”
“The paragraph … was intended to appear to be and would be understood as a concise statement of what took place in my private room … But … there was no contempt in announcing the fact that the ward had become the wife of Hueffer; the contempt was in purporting to give the public information, though meagre, of what the Judge had decided ought not to be disclosed, by determining to hear the case in private and excluding the public.”
“In my judgment, a distinction must be made with regard to the verbatim extract from the case records, which in this case was exhibited to an affidavit made by a social worker. This exhibit was disclosed and filed by the local authority as part of its evidence to the court. Confidentiality in respect of this part of the case records has clearly been waived. The exhibit undoubtedly contains information relating to the proceedings since it constitutes a part of the evidence. I am satisfied that for this reason the extract of the case records comes within the ambit ofsection 12(1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1960 and that its publication is precluded without leave of the court.”
“[Counsel] has relied principally on the provisions of section 12 in order to support her argument that documents not filed with the court are nonetheless protected from disclosure to the police. Section 12 is designed to protect information from publication in child family cases heard in private. The protection covers the proceedings, principally the actual hearing before the court and those proceedings cannot be, for instance, reported in the press. This section was not intended to cover documents held by social workers which have not been filed with the court nor used in the proceedings heard by the court in private. It does not seem to me that the control by the court either under the umbrella of rule 4.23 or of section 12 extends to documents outside the court proceedings. The argument of [counsel] supporting the judge's approach is, none the less, at first sight, very attractive since, if the purpose of rule 4.23 is to protect the information contained in the documents, there seems little point in having a rule which protects only the pieces of paper and not the contents. It is not, however, necessary for the court to give rule 4.23 the extended meaning suggested. The appropriate protection of information, notes and other papers from disclosure can be achieved by another route which does not do violence to the clear words of rule 4.23.”
“The notes of the two interviews with the mother and the notes of the social workers' meeting are not documents held by the court relating to proceedings nor are they covered by the provisions of section 12.”
“Wrapped up in this concept of confidentiality there are, as it seems to me, a number of different factors and interests which need to be borne in mind: (i) First, there is the interest of the particular child concerned in maintaining the confidentiality and privacy of the proceedings in which he has been involved, what … Balcombe LJ referred to as the “curtain of privacy”. (ii) But there is also, secondly, the interest of litigants generally that those who, to use Lord Shaw of Dunfermline’s famous words in Scott v Scott[1913] AC 417 , 482, “appeal for the protection of the court in the case of [wards]” should not thereby suffer “the consequence of placing in the light of publicity their truly domestic affairs”
“The affairs are truly private affairs; the transactions are transactions truly intra familiam”. (iii) Thirdly, there is a public interest in encouraging frankness in children’s cases, what Nicholls LJ referred to in Brown v Matthews[1990] Ch 662 , 681C, … as the frank and ready co-operation from people as diverse as doctors, school teachers, neighbours, the child in question, the parents themselves, and other close relations, including other children in the same family, on which the proper functioning of the system depends … it is very much in the interests of children generally that potential witnesses in such proceedings are not deterred from giving evidence by the fear that their private affairs or privately expressed views will be exposed to the public gaze. (iv) Fourthly, there is a particular public interest in encouraging frankness in children’s cases on the part of perpetrators of child abuse of whatever kind … (v) Finally, there is a public interest in preserving faith with those who have given evidence to the family court in the belief that it would remain confidential. However, as both Ralph Gibson LJ in Brown v Matthews[1990] Ch 662 , 672B … and Balcombe LJ in In re Manda[1993] Fam 183 , 195H … make clear, whilst persons who give evidence in child proceedings can normally assume that their evidence will remain confidential, they are not entitled to assume that it will remain confidential in all circumstances … ”
“if social workers and others in a like position believe that the evidence they give in child proceedings will in all circumstances remain confidential, then the sooner they are disabused of that belief, the better.”
“The fact that witnesses may be named illustrates the fact that the general practice of affording privacy in children cases does not extend to preserving the privacy of expert witnesses involved in the proceedings. The privacy of the expert participants is not always and may not generally be necessary to achieve the object of the proceedings.”
“[Counsel] says that there is no public interest in naming the local authority. That may or may not be so, but it is, I think, largely beside the point. It is for the local authority to establish a convincing case for an injunction to restrain the media publishing something which is prohibited neither by the general law nor by s 12. It cannot establish such a case merely by demonstrating – even assuming it can – that there is no public interest in the identity of the local authority, for that is to put the boot on the wrong foot.”
“If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence.”
“[30] It needs to be borne in mind that, although the children’s guardian, the social workers, the police officer, the treating doctors and the expert witnesses may have a common desire for anonymity, they stand in what may be significantly different positions. Treating doctors are only infrequently and incidentally involved as witnesses in care proceedings – and then essentially as witnesses (and, it is to be noted, compellable witnesses) of historical fact. Social workers and police officers in child protection teams, in contrast, are employed in jobs which, in the nature of things, mean that they will not infrequently – social workers more frequently than police officers – have to give evidence in care proceedings, evidence which is often a mixture of historical fact and opinion. A children’s guardian is employed to perform a task whose very raison d’être is the giving of evidence to the court and whose primary function, in addition to reporting what the child, if old enough, has said, is to offer advice to the court. And an expert witness is someone who, in consideration of the payment of a fee, and in marked contrast, for example, to the treating doctors, has chosen to proffer expert opinion evidence for the purpose of the particular proceedings. [31] These differences are reflected in the fact that, whereas Mr Lock on behalf of some of the treating doctors focused his submissions on Art 8, Mr Brompton on behalf of Dr A and Dr B, two of the expert witnesses, extended his submissions to embrace also Art 6: cf, the analysis in Re B (A Child) (Disclosure)[2004] EWHC 411 (Fam) ,[2004] 2 FLR 142 , at [127]–[130] and in British Broadcasting Company v Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council and X and Y[2005] EWHC 2862 (Fam) ,[2007] 1 FLR 101 , at [37].”
“The children’s guardian, as I have said, does not claim anonymity. And one can see certain obstacles in the way of any claim to anonymity for the social workers and the police officer given the observations of Thorpe LJ in Re W (Care Proceedings: Witness Anonymity)[2002] EWCA Civ 1626 ,[2003] 1 FLR 329 , at [13], and, more generally, the reasoning and the decision of Ryder J in British Broadcasting Company v Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council and X and Y[2005] EWHC 2862 (Fam) ,[2007] 1 FLR 101 . That said, difficult issues may arise in relation to the claims for anonymity by the social workers, the police officer and, even more so perhaps, the treating doctors.”
“As a generalisation, I think it must be recognised that social workers up and down the country, day in day out, are on the receiving end of threats of violence and sometimes of actual violence from adults who are engaged in bitterly contested public law cases at the end of which the parents face permanent separation from their children, at least during their childhood and adolescence. Social workers generally must regard this as a professional hazard. I have not myself ever had experience of a local authority seeking anonymity for a professional worker in these circumstances. I am unaware of any previous ruling to this effect. Obviously the court must exercise a discretion, and it is quite impossible to set any useful bounds on the exercise of that discretion. Perhaps it is enough to say that cases in which the court will afford anonymity to a professional social work witness will be highly exceptional.”
“X and Y say that: (1) social workers as public servants working in a confidential environment should be protected by a cloak of anonymity, save where there has been dishonesty or bad faith; (2) they support open public debate and do not oppose the making of the documentary; (3) they left the local authority’s employment as a matter of personal choice and not in consequence of the judgment and have both in their different ways gone on to considerable professional success elsewhere; (4) their professional competence has not been called into question since the judgment; (5) theirArt 8 Convention rights are engaged and, having regard to the nature and extent of the agreed disclosure, the maintenance of their anonymity is a proportionate restraint, whereas the publication of their identities would add so little of value that it would be a disproportionate interference; (6) they both fear: (a) a negative impact on their professional standing with colleagues and families with whom they now work; (b) a negative impact on future career prospects (I deliberately do not enlarge on this issue because it would tend to identify the social workers present professional activities and the BBC has undertaken not to reveal their present employments but I stress that I have considered the detail of that which is set out in the affidavits that have been sworn); (c) the possibility of an unfair or inaccurate portrayal of them including by any failure to consider the actions of others with whom it is asserted they acted at the time (eg management representatives); (d) intrusive media interest; (e) harassment and/or behaviour from others towards themselves or their families that they would regard as threatening; (f) a seriously detrimental emotional impact (described as enormous) upon their closest relatives, including children who do not know of their past involvement with this case and parents who are elderly.” (a) a negative impact on their professional standing with colleagues and families with whom they now work; (b) a negative impact on future career prospects (I deliberately do not enlarge on this issue because it would tend to identify the social workers present professional activities and the BBC has undertaken not to reveal their present employments but I stress that I have considered the detail of that which is set out in the affidavits that have been sworn); (c) the possibility of an unfair or inaccurate portrayal of them including by any failure to consider the actions of others with whom it is asserted they acted at the time (eg management representatives); (d) intrusive media interest; (e) harassment and/or behaviour from others towards themselves or their families that they would regard as threatening; (f) a seriously detrimental emotional impact (described as enormous) upon their closest relatives, including children who do not know of their past involvement with this case and parents who are elderly.”
“[38] Likewise, there is a public interest in encouraging the frankness which is essential in cases involving the welfare of children. That includes promoting, rather than deterring witnesses, including professional witnesses, from giving evidence. It should be noted that this interest is usually characterised as a need to preserve confidential sources and information rather than as an incident of any right to personal confidentiality or anonymity in the professional witness who relays that material to the court, although the various aspects of confidentiality will have greater or lesser weight on the facts of each case: see Munby J in Re X (Disclosure of Information)[2001] 2 FLR 440 , at para [24]. Such witnesses are not entitled to assume that their evidence will remain confidential in all circumstances, nor that their identity will normally be protected for this purpose: see the analysis of Balcombe LJ in Re Manda above at 191–196 and 211–215 respectively. The submission that social workers, among others, can expect that the ‘confidentiality of their identities’ will be respected unless there has been dishonesty or bad faith is not a correct statement of the law and has not been for some time, if it ever was. [39] This court has not received any direct evidence touching on the arguments of frankness, deterrence or the availability of child protection, professionals, although strong submissions have been made to that effect. Despite this, I take notice of the fact that there is a continuing shortage of social care professionals, particularly in child protection and that there have been and are campaigns against them which can have a serious effect upon an individual’s private life. Further, there is a public interest in encouraging social workers and others to engage in this difficult work. Great weight is placed on this by the local authority and by X and Y, and, although I should take these factors into account and I do, no one suggests that they are the determinant or predominant factual issues in this case.”
“[69] There is no longer any interest of a particular child or children generally in retaining the anonymity of X and Y. The justification for the original anonymity ruling no longer exists. [70] The evidence served in support of the applications of the local authority and X and Y does not, in my judgment, convincingly establish a pressing social need for the restraint asked for. That restraint would in my judgment be a disproportionate interference with theArt 10 Convention right. In the shorthand, it does not establish an exceptional case for an interference with Art 10. Publication of the identities of X and Y will be an interference with X and Y’s Art 8 rights but one that is in pursuit of a legitimate aim, namely, informed and open discussion in the media of the public interest issues relating to these proceedings and to family proceedings generally. In my judgment that interference would be proportionate. [71] TheArt 10 Convention rights of the BBC and the former wards, and the public interest, reinforced by Art 6, in enabling public scrutiny of court proceedings and family justice, should on the facts of this case prevail over the Art 8 rights of the applicants.”
“From 2002 to 2006 I was president elect and then President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. The College represents all paediatricians in the UK including consultants and trainees. The total membership is now almost 10000. During the period of my presidency I became very aware of the enormous pressures facing paediatricians in their work with regard to child protection. This was a particular issue because of the high profile cases involving Sir Roy Meadow and Professor David Southall, both leaders of the profession, and pioneers in the field of child protection. In addition there was a huge increase in the number of complaints against paediatricians, both to their employers and to their regulatory body, the General Medical Council. The College undertook a survey of its members and had a very high response rate of over 80%. Of the 4500 respondents 14% had a complaint against them in the recent past. A total of 786 complaints were reported. The annual number had increased from 20 in 1996 to over 100 in 2003. The vast majority of these were resolved at Trust or NHS ombudsman level and of the complaints to the GMC only 1 case resulted in a finding of serious professional misconduct. The fourfold increase in complaints does have to be set in the context of a pervading culture of complaining. The overall number of complaints to the GMC for all reasons increased 15-fold between 1990 and 2003, an annual increase of 33%. In spite of the fact that many of these cases come to nothing, when a complaint is made, especially to the GMC one cannot underestimate the enormous effect that this has on the doctor and his family. Complaints can take a year or more to resolve and the pressure endured by these doctors cannot be underestimated. During my period of office we were aware of the difficulties in finding doctors willing to take on specialist roles in child protection. Each district should have a designated doctor for child protection and many of these posts were unfilled. There was also a severe shortage of doctors willing to act as experts in child protection cases. The Research Division of the RCPCH undertook a follow up interview project with a sample of those paediatricians who had responded to the original survey and who had received a complaint in connection with their child protection work. A paper describing the results of this study were recently published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood … There is no doubt of the adverse impact of high profile child protection cases over the last few years. Professionals working in health and social care have been subjected to a high degree of media attention and scrutiny. This has focussed on a perceived failure to intervene to safeguard a child when such intervention seemed indicated or for intervening when it was not necessary ie when the end result of child protection proceedings is that the child was deemed not to have been abused. The tragic Victoria Climbie case was an example of a failure to take appropriate action and there are many examples such as the Cannings and Clark cases where the courts decided that abuse had not occurred. The media portray these cases as black and white failing to recognise the extreme complexity in many of the cases. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t intervene has certainly been the perception of many professionals. Child protection is part of every paediatrician’s every day work. They never know whether the child presented to them may not be as straightforward as the parent or carer indicates. Indeed paediatrics is most unusual in medical practice. The classical medical method decrees that when a person presents the first thing to do is to take a good history. Indeed generations of students have learned the aphorism “listen to the mother, she is telling you the diagnosis.”
“We believe that different considerations apply in relation to expert witnesses on the one hand and treating staff on the other. In large part, these comments relate to staff who are directly involved in ‘front-line’ child protection work rather than those doctors who are employed in a professional capacity to provide expert evidence. It must however be recognised that staff actively involved in treating patients may commonly find themselves called to give evidence in court ostensibly of a factual nature but only by virtue of their professional qualification and employment. The factual evidence that they give will often include an opinion as to whether injuries are characteristic of those caused accidentally or non-accidentally. The distinction between expert witnesses and treating staff may be misleading: the child and the court depend upon both being prepared to give their evidence without fear or favour. The Courts will be aware of the adverse impact of high profile Child Protection cases since the new century began. In these cases professionals working in health and social care have been criticised and subject to intense media attention. This has focussed either on a perceived failure to intervene to safeguard a child when such intervention was indicated, or for intervening when it was not necessary. Perhaps inevitably the representation of these cases in the mass media appears sensationalist and very ‘black and white’ – failing to recognise that in this area one is often working with uncertain data and possible deliberate or subconscious deception against a background that one is ‘damned if you do and damned if you don’t’. There is no doubt that work to protect children from abuse is essential. Violence in our society is a continuing problem and children are amongst its most vulnerable victims. There is however very real cause for concern that media attention in this area is discouraging professionals from this work, and thereby putting children at risk. … In 2004 Professor Sir Alan Craft, as President of the RCPCH wrote to all paediatricians and said: “the last few months has seen an unprecedented number of media attacks of Paediatricians. Although this has largely been around high profile Court Cases, the impact on the whole of Child Protection has been enormous. The public, and indeed many professionals, are confused. Paediatricians are deeply concerned, both for themselves and for their families. That this is causing a major problem is evident from the fact that paediatricians are becoming reluctant to become involved in Child Protection, unless they absolutely have to do so. A substantial number of Designated and Named Doctor posts are unfulfilled.”
“The diagnosis of child abuse to account for unexplained injuries, failure to thrive and neglect has really only been better recognised as an important part of the work of paediatricians over the last 50 years. During this time new manifestations of child abuse have become increasingly recognised, such as emotional abuse, child sexual abuse and FII. The diagnosis of child abuse is commonly not straightforward, involving the piecing together of various bits of information including the history and physical findings, as well as information from Social Services and Police. Paediatricians have a duty to report cases of possible child abuse to the statutory authorities (Social Services and Police) and to engage in subsequent child protection procedures. It is regrettable but inevitable that, with a proportion of entirely proper referrals, a case of possible child abuse will be investigated and found to be unsubstantiated. When this happens it can be very distressing for the parents or others involved in the child’s care, but it is an unavoidable consequence in this complex area. The only practical alternative would be to ask paediatricians to only report definite cases of child abuse. If the evidential threshold we were required to apply was much higher, many cases of possible child abuse would not be reported and therefore not be investigated. It seems inevitable that this would lead to a situation where some vulnerable children would remain unprotected. When paediatricians or other health professionals make a report of possible child abuse to Social Services or Police, parents will be informed provided this does not threaten the child’s safety. It is not uncommon that parents may become upset about such referrals and the subsequent procedures usually aim to acknowledge this upset and provide support to parents. Such upset is all the more likely when reports made by health professionals of possible child abuse are unsubstantiated following investigation by the statutory authorities. Thus it is a regular part of paediatricians’ practise to expect some parents to be upset and to help try and resolve this. In the last 10-15 years, there have been increasing levels of action taken by parents involved in child abuse cases where either the abuse has been unsubstantiated or where parents have denied alleged abuse. The actions include use of employer complaints procedures, complaints to regulatory bodies and use of politicians and the media to support their ‘cause’. Various websites developed to aid communication and provide support for parents who alleged they had been falsely accused. One of the most notable was the site that dealt with parents who alleged false accusations of fabricated or induced illness: Mothers Against Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy Allegations or MAMA (www.msbp.com). This site was used to co-ordinate public meetings, including with Members of Parliament and the General Medical Council and in addition, posted a variety of libellous and threatening messages against professionals involved in child protection. In the last year, this site has been removed by the American authorities following complaints by medical professionals to the US Attorney General. Such actions have extended to include not only those by parents accused of alleged abuse, but also other individuals, including journalists, a minority of health professionals, and a few members of Parliament. One particular activist, Ms Penny Mellor, a self-acclaimed ‘child advocate’, has made extensive reports of health professionals involved in child protection work to the professional regulatory bodies, police, employing authorities, politicians and the press. A common tactic has been to report a professional and then publicise that the individual is under investigation for making false allegations of abuse against parents. The success of the campaign against paediatricians and other professionals in child protection is evident in speeches in both the House of Commons and House of Lords, which include denials of certain types of abuse (eg FII) (available in Hansard). The above activist was imprisoned for conspiracy to abduct children from the care of social services in a case of FII, although her complaints against paediatricians and others continue to be listened to. I would like to stress to the court that the active campaigners who are involved in this see their campaign against individual paediatricians as a “cause”
“The Council has a statutory duty to investigate in every case in which child protection concerns arise, and the social workers in this case were simply doing their jobs. Many parents take exception to the child protection process and social workers sometimes suffer hostile reactions. It is a difficult and often stressful job, requiring a high level of knowledge and skill and the ability to make finely balanced judgments under pressure. They are responsible for protecting the most vulnerable members of society. Their decisions can have very serious implications for children and families. The threat of publicity or media intrusion in to their professional and/or private lives would only add to the difficulties which social workers already face. Effective child protection processes rely on professionals being able to take decisions which are in the best interests of children, not of the adults caring for them. They have to take these decisions in the face of opposition from parents and in times when tensions and emotions are, understandably, running high. The added threat of being the subject of publicity, and all that entails, would serve only to inhibit appropriate decision-making and sharing of information. Further, it will deter others from entering a profession in which there is already a nationwide shortage. Local authorities who have children’s services functions will, in any given case, be the lead agencies in safeguarding children, and the children’s social worker is usually the lead professional. The lead professional will obtain information and sometimes advice from the other agencies, such as Health, Police, Education or Probation, but it remains the children’s services authority which has the legal duty and responsibility to take Court action to protect children. Social care staff who take difficult decisions as to what action to take are in the front line, facing the family’s emotions and anxieties. I know, from talking to many social workers, that they worry about these things. Courts and Safeguarding Boards have the skills and knowledge to properly consider the local authority’s actions and decisions. Most sectors of the media do not. In appropriate cases, particularly where the system has failed, sometimes with disastrous consequences, it is right that the role of individuals is held up to more public scrutiny and in these cases it may be that individuals should be named. This already happens and social care staff have to expect this. Were this to become routine practise or the norm, the concern is the impact of yet further pressure upon staff trying to do an extremely difficult job in difficult circumstances, and consequently the impact upon the families they are trying to help. Social workers find themselves in a difficult position of needing to work closely with children and their families, often over a long period of time. They may need to address with the parents issues over their care of the children and often have to say difficult things. At the same time, they are expected to maintain good working relationships both with the children and parents, and with other professionals with whom they may have differences of professional opinion. Their overriding objective is to keep the best interests of the children at the forefront of their minds and as a paramount consideration in their decision making. Social care staff are acutely aware that their actions and decisions will come under scrutiny and may come in for criticism from a variety of quarters, especially (but not restricted to) the Courts. This is just one of the things which they have to worry about and live with. If they make mistakes or decisions which turn out to be wrong, a child could die or suffer serious harm. Few professions carry such a high level of responsibility. Publicity, for those who neither want nor seek it, and who are already doing a difficult and stressful job, will inevitably affect their ability to do their work. This, in turn, affects all the children and families for whom they are case responsible. Mrs Ward states that she has no wish to vilify those involved in William’s case. Mr and Mrs Ward would not be able to control that process, or what is printed. Nor can they control the investigations or behaviours of others who may take a different approach. Social workers are bound by duties of confidentiality towards service users. Their right of reply to anything which may be printed about them, or about a case, is therefore limited. They may not feel able to adequately defend themselves. The high levels of stress which social workers experience inevitably affects their sickness levels and the ability to recruit and retain staff. During August 2008, 30 members of staff in Children’s Services took time off work due to stress or related reasons, and 194 working days were lost. This accounts for 8% of total sickness absences for that month. Some of our children’s social care teams have, from time to time, experienced very high levels of vacancies. They have had to continue operating through periods of crisis, when there are not enough qualified and/or experienced workers to respond to continuous new referrals as well as deal with open cases. Rolling programmes of recruitment, and use of agency staff, are in place but the national shortage of qualified and experienced social workers means that we often struggle to fill vacancies. This is not due a lack of funding. We have seen some teams’ budgets underspent. There simply are not enough social workers willing and able to deal with child protection work. Even where posts can be filled, reliance on agency workers and a high turnover of staff affect case continuity and, therefore, standards of practice. The effect is felt by children and families, as acutely as it is felt by our workers. Managers have to prioritise work and manage risks. A shortage of social workers can mean that only those cases assessed as the most serious or the most high risk actually receive the social work attention which they need. This potentially leaves children in need having to wait longer for the support and services which would benefit them. It is absolutely right that social workers and social care managers are accountable for their practice and their decisions. Accountability exists through the legal system, through the GSCC, through the Local Government Ombudsman and through councils’ complaints and representations procedures. Mr and Mrs Ward wish to advance public debate. No issue is taken with that. However, publicly naming social care staff in that process is unnecessary and undesirable for all the reasons stated. It would not advance the public debate about infant fractures, about the family court system or about child protection systems.”