---

Children: Protection

Answer

The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), asked Lord Carlile to conduct an independent review into the case of the 'J' brothers in Edlington following publication of an unsatisfactory Serious Case Review overview report on the case.

On the day of publication of Lord Carlile's report, the Secretary of State said:

‘I asked Lord Carlile to look at the situation in Doncaster because there were problems specific to the town which required expert external analysis. But in asking him to take on this work I was keen not just that we should learn lessons specific to Doncaster—but also that he should make recommendations about wider changes we needed to make to improve child protection.

Reading his report, I have found his overall argument compelling. There are a series of specific recommendations, many of which I am instinctively drawn to and all of which deserve careful consideration. The Government will respond formally to all the recommendations in due course.

But I want there to be a time for debate before the time of decision. Because one of the reasons why I like Lord Carlile's approach so much is that he issues tough challenges—as I hope to today—and if we speak plainly then in fairness we need to hear how others respond before acting’.

The Government is now considering each of Lord Carlile's recommendations carefully and will be consulting relevant organisations who have an interest and we will respond in due course.

The Government has been dissatisfied for some time with the way in which Serious Case Reviews are conducted. We have consulted on revised statutory guidance which will put the emphasis on conducting reviews which get to the heart of what happened in a serious incident, and why, and highlight the importance of making the findings available to the public.

Three Local Safeguarding Children Boards have been piloting a new approach to Serious Case Reviews which follows the systems methodology recommended by Professor Eileen Munro. The Department has commissioned an independent evaluation of the pilots which will, along with Lord Carlile's report, inform the final revised statutory guidance on Serious Case Reviews. The report of the independent evaluation will also be published in due course.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

134802; 555 cc894-5W

Session

2012-13

Subjects

Children Protection

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk