Bungling Haringey Council splits family

Children’s Services at Haringey Council which bungled its handling of Baby P who died in 2007, and eight-year-old Victoria Climbie who died in 2000, is still failing children big time and ignoring court orders in the process.

In flagrant breach of an order of the High Court ordering that five older family children aged between six and 13 must remain in touch with their younger siblings aged two and three, the Council arranged for the children to have a final goodbye meeting.

The eldest five who are in foster homes are not to see again the youngest two who are to be placed with an adoptive family. Apart from the fact that the court order was ignored, it is well established, and good practice, that siblings should have contact.

Haringey’s excuse appears to be that it may be too traumatic for the children to see each other again.

Judge, Mr. Justice Holman, who said he parted from the case with a sense of the utmost despair observed that the Council’s failings almost beggared belief, adding that a terrible thing had happened in relation to all the children that should never have been allowed to happen.

The judge commented that it may now be too late to unscramble the egg on the issue of direct contact and the local authority had most probably created a fait accompli.

The parents of these children were each jailed for seven years for violently abusing them. The further pain they are now enduring knowing that they may no longer contact their siblings, can only be imagined.

Originally, the pain was caused by the violence of criminals. Further pain is now being inflicted ostensibly at the hands of the state and nothing is being done to correct it.

Haringey’s Assistant Director of Children and Young People’s Services is reported as saying that she was satisfied with the council’s actions but that internal processes were being reviewed, adding, “It is clear that aspects of the team’s compliance with court orders made in respect of the children fell unacceptably short of good practice.”

Not a word of regret. Not an encouraging comment that all steps would now be taken to put matters right. Just empty words.

How much longer must society endure bungling incompetency from its worst performing councils while at the same time children suffer and die?

Those who breach court orders made for the best interests and protection of children should be brought before the court and punished severely.

Perhaps the clanging of prison gates would help to concentrate the minds of all who are tasked with ensuring the welfare of our children.