Gavin Williamson scrapped dozens of protections for children – unlawfully
Williamson the dunce: I know it’s a duff image but it reflects this MP’s abilities so I’ll keep using it as long as he continues to be a dunce.
Tory Education Secretary Gavin Williamson stripped children in care of 65 legal protections illegally, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
Judges said he should have consulted the Children’s Commissioner and other stakeholder organisations before inflicting such a “substantial and wide-ranging” “bonfire of children’s rights”.
The regulations affected included legal timescales for social-worker visits to children in care, six-monthly reviews of children’s welfare, independent scrutiny of children’s homes and senior officer oversight of adoption decision-making for babies and children.
The protections affected also cover disabled children having short breaks and children in care sent many miles away from home.
It seems Williamson did conduct a consultation but was selective about whose opinions he sought – adoption agencies, private providers and local government bodies.
But organisations representing the children and young people who were to be affected by the changes were not consulted and the Children’s Commissioner only found out about the changes after they had been forced through Parliament through the Adoption and Children (Coronavirus) (Amendment) regulations in April.
We are told that all of the changes were temporary and have now expired.
We have yet to hear – may never hear – how many children were harmed as a result of them.
Williamson has been told to run proper consultations in future.
But will he? And doesn’t this simply reignite the debate over whether Conservatives should be allowed anywhere near children in care.
Source: Education secretary ‘unlawfully scrapped children’s rights’ – BBC News
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All part of their aktion t4 they do their own thing all following orders of the party