Friday 23 September 2016

Child Protection in Calais

Labour MP Stella Creasy’s amendment to the Immigration Act would result in unaccompanied child refugees at the camp in Calais being treated as potential British citizens, so becoming entitled to child protection action by the British authorities.



The amendment deserves widespread support as a vitally important humanitarian measure.

Put bluntly, the failure of both the British and French governments to ensure the safety and welfare of children in the camp is a disgrace. The issue must be tackled urgently.

Monday 19 September 2016

Birmingham - it makes my blood boil …

What a load of utter nonsense!! After years and years of creating a toxic and dysfunctional organisation, now faced with insuperable challenges and a uniquely hostile financial climate, Birmingham City Council seems to be considering the option of unloading the whole mess which is their Children’s Department onto their employees, who may be asked to take it on as an outsourced mutual trust.


Outsourcing a mess usually results in just one thing: an outsourced mess. Birmingham should long ago have done the things that would make their Children’s Department work well: such as stopping the blame culture, reducing unnecessary bureaucracy, supporting workers, creating a safe working environment, allocating sufficient resources, creating conditions in which people can learn and develop. They should have focused on children and young people and their needs, not on elaborate and unintelligible reorganisations and changing the signs on the doors of senior managers.


The “we-can’t-run-it-over-to-you” mentality that is implicit in this latest development makes my blood boil. But if I worked for Birmingham Children’s Services it would probably chill it ice cold. I think Birmingham City Council should get its act together and take responsibility for undoing the mess, before they consider divesting themselves of what seems to be a poison chalice.