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Child Abuse

Volume 118: debated on Tuesday 30 June 1987

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4.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what extra resources his Department is making available to local authorities to deal with the problems of child abuse.

The1987–88 provision for personal social services was a 12·8 per cent. increase on 1986–87, representing a significant increase in real terms. This included additional provision for children's services and for training. Central funds have also been made available for a number of specific projects to improve the training of social workers and others who may be concerned with child abuse.

While in no way wishing to comment on any of the matters that were raised yesterday in a very heated atmosphere, may I point out to the Minister that physical or sexual abuse of children, which is now reported in far greater numbers, is about the biggest theft of childhood that any child can experience and that local authorities, despite what the Minister has said, are hard pushed to meet the demands on them for training in detection and how to deal with children who have been damaged'? Is he aware that we further betray those children if, having encouraged people to come forward and give evidence about these matters, we fail to meet the needs of the children?

I would not entirely agree with the implication of the hon. Lady's remarks. I agree that the problem is not only one of resources, but of skills and expertise, and that is precisely why we have been putting so much additional effort—including, for example, cooperation with Great Ormond street, the National Children's Bureau and the National Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Children—into improving training in those areas. That is important.

Quite apart from resources, does the Minister not feel that when doctors, social workers, magistrates and local authorities appear to be approaching this extremely important matter in divergent ways it is urgent for the Secretary of State, together, perhaps, with the Home Secretary, to call together representatives of all the strands of care in this vital area of activity to see whether a more cohesive approach can be created, including updated legislation if that proves necessary?

If I agreed entirely with my hon. Friend my answer would he yes, but the arrangements for proper inter-agency co-operation are working well in most parts of the country. It is clear that in at least one part of the country they do not appear to be working well, and our problem is to make sure that they work well everywhere.

Will the Minister condemn the outrageous statement made in the House yesterday by the hon. Member for Stockton, South (Mr. Devlin) when he equated the Cleveland social services with the SS?

My hon. Friend referred to a particular case which he said had been brought to his attention and on which I am not in a position to comment—[Interruption.] I am not prepared to comment on the hon. Lady's question this afternoon any more than I was prepared to comment on my hon. Friend's question yesterday afternoon.

Are not such cases always extremely difficul to assess, and does not intervention and help require great skill? Does my hon. Friend agree that social workers require proper training and co-ordination and that procedures between agencies must be properly implemented? Can my hon. Friend offer any encouragement that we shall update the law on child care, making more explicit the rights and responsibilities of local authorities and parents?

My hon. Friend will know that we have published proposals in those respects and that within the next few months we are hoping to put out in a final form the draft guidance that we have had out for some time to make quite sure that inter-agency co-operation, which we all agree is needed, takes place effectively throughout the country.

Does the Minister accept that often the increase in cases of child abuse occurs most when families are under pressure in areas of deprivation; that, as the hon. Member for Eccles (Miss Lestor) said, some places need an increase in resources; that others, particularly the inner cities, need better co-ordination between the health and social services; and that in all regions the Minister should take a lead in implementing a system of second checks so that the rights of all can be protected at the first stage, because after that it can never be done adequately and suspicion will never be got rid of?

The hon. Gentleman will have noted what was said yesterday by the Northern regional health authority in setting up a pilot scheme. We shall obviously want to look at and learn from the experience of that scheme.

Will the Minister accept from one who has just left the administration of social work training that those directly involved accept that there is a desperate need for additional resourcing in that vital area? All members of the social work profession accept that professionally trained social workers are the best way to avoid problems in society. Therefore, will he give an early indication of when we can expect a statement on the diploma of qualification in social work, to enable schemes on the certificate in social service and the certificate of qualification in social work to progress in preparation for 1991?

With her expertise, the hon. Lady will know that I had discussions with the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work a few months ago. It is doing some more work on its proposals in order to refine them, and we shall look at those carefully when we have them later in the year.

Does my hon. Friend recall the case of Maria Caldwell, who was brutally killed by her stepfather in my constituency? Surely he will remember that, as a result, a new Act came on to the statute book which altered the balance of the rights between parents and children. In view of the tragic situation that has now arisen in Cleveland, and the new figures produced by the NSPCC, will he ensure that any future legislation continues to keep that balance right, that we do not overreact, and always remember that children's rights must come first?

Having held these responsibilities at an earlier stage, and in a different capacity as well, I am very conscious of the fact that the most difficult single problem is getting that balance right. Indeed, that has been illustrated within the past few weeks—by the Kimberley Carlisle case not long ago, on which we shall soon receive a report, and by what is now alleged to have happened in Cleveland. It is an acutely difficult problem, and I am very conscious of it.

Given that most perpetrators of this kind of abuse are men and that the overwhelming majority of victims are young girls, should not the Government, among other things, encourage the recruitment of many more women doctors into the ranks of police surgeons? Police surgeons have an important role to play, and they, too, must be given the right kind of training.

I believe I am right in saying that the number of women doctors generally is increasing. I look to my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary to confirm that. However, I shall certainly undertake to draw the hon. Gentleman's point to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary.

Does the Minister accept that, while women doctors may be becoming more numerous, women police surgeons are not? Even in the House today there is a tendency, which is reflected nationally, for people to bury their heads in the sand and miss the tragedy that is taking place in the nation. More resources are needed to deal with it. Can a social worker do a case conference, enter into multi-disciplinary conferments, and at the same time be on his or her patch dealing with the problems? Does the Minister accept that more resources are needed? Can such resources also be made available to Northern Ireland, or will that have to go to the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference?

I said in my reply to the original question from the hon. Member for Eccles (Miss Lestor) that there had been a substantial increase in the provision for social services for the current year and that that took account of children's services. Of course, we shall continue to take those matters into account, not least the recent experience, when considering allocations for future years.

Is the Minister aware that, in view of the stream of horrific child abuse cases in recent years and the current hysteria that does not make for good policy-making, it is a serious failure that the Government have still not formalised guidance for dealing with such cases? As Cleveland is now referring children at a rate more than 10 times greater than the national average, does that not suggest that there are enormous and unacceptable variations in the handling of problems and that there are no agreed medical rules for diagnosing child abuse? Will the Minister therefore convene a national panel of all the relevant professional interests to try to achieve a national consensus on the identification, handling and treatment of a very serious problem that has been underestimated for years?

We already have in hand arrangements to prepare practice guidance for social workers, for health visitors and, in the sense that the hon. Gentleman suggested it, for doctors. As I said yesterday on a different angle of the problem, I frankly think that it would be better for us to get on with that work than to convene a national conference along the lines that he suggests.

Order. The House will understand why I allowed a fairly long run on that question, but I feel that we must now move on rather more rapidly.