Baby P review 'to remain secret'
Ministers have rejected calls for a review into the death of Baby P,
which pointed to failings in Haringey child protection services, to be
made public.
Michael Gove and David Laws, Tory and Lib Dem frontbenchers, wrote to
Children's Secretary Ed Balls urging the internal review to be
published.
But Mr Balls said confidentiality was vital to the success of such
reviews.
The sentencing of Baby P's mother and two men for causing the death has
been postponed for at least three months.
Mr Balls told Parliament earlier this month that lawyers had advised him
against publishing the report, which contains personal data about
individuals involved in the case, as it could jeopardise future
inquiries.
'Public interest'
The death of the 17-month old boy last year, after months of abuse by
his mother and boyfriend, shocked the country and led to heated
exchanges between Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Tory leader David
Cameron.
Baby P was on Haringey council's at-risk child protection register at
the time of his death and was seen by social workers, police and medical
professionals 60 times in the months before his death.
After reading the serious case review, which pointed to a series of
operational and management failings in the council's child protection
services, Mr Balls ordered an external investigation.
Mr Balls agreed to allow a handful of MPs to read the case review on the
basis they did not disclose its contents.
In a letter to the children's secretary, Mr Gove, who is the shadow
schools minister, Mr Laws, who is the Lib Dem schools spokesman, and
local Lib Dem MP Lynne Featherstone urged him to change his mind on the
issue.
"There is clearly a strong public interest in the case of Baby P and a
determination to ensure that the lessons of the tragic case are
learned," the letter said.
"Now that we have all read the full report, we believe that it is
clearly in the public interest that this should be published, with the
exception of a small number of passages which give sensitive personal
information.
'Public accountability'
In response, Mr Balls said the purpose of such reviews was "to learn
lessons from what happened" and confidentiality was "fundamental to
their effectiveness"
"This is not about keeping secret information which should rightly be in
the public domain. I have been very clear about my commitment to public
accountability in the Haringey case."
Mr Balls said he expects to receive the first draft of the report,
carried out by Ofsted, the Commission for Healthcare Audit and the Chief
Inspector of Constabulary, by 1 December.
That report will be subsequently published.
The sentencing of Baby P's mother and two men involved in his death has,
meanwhile, has been put off to the Spring, it has emerged.
The 27-year-old mother, her 32-year-old boyfriend and lodger Jason Owen,
36, of Bromley, south London, were due to be sentenced on December 15
for causing or allowing his death.
But Old Bailey trial Judge Stephen Kramer said the sentencing had been
put off for at least three months.
He said: "For legal reasons, the sentencing of the three defendants is
postponed until March or April 2009."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.
Published: 2008/11/28 17:52:46 GMT
Friday, 28 November 2008
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