WATERHOUSE REPORT ON CHILD ABUSE IN NORTH WALES

Tuesday 15 February 2000

Freedom to Care, which promotes freedom of speech in the workplace, says:

Management cultures are still putting children at risk.

Secretary of State for Wales Paul Murphy launched the Report by claiming that the "culture of complacency" of past senior Social Services managers has now been replaced by the "culture of vigilance". We have evidence that senior managers are still putting the "good" name of their council first, before the need to properly investigate and discipline staff who abuse children. Their vigilance has been on silencing whistleblowers.

Social Services managers have had to resign from a North Wales council because they insisted that safe procedures were used for recruiting children's homes' staff and that staff who abused a disabled child should be disciplined. Chief Officers in Flintshire refused to support their complaints, intimidated them and in 1997, removed them from their duties. Their statements formed part of the Waterhouse Tribunal evidence.

Now speaking for Freedom to Care, one of those whistleblowers was Chris Clode, Flintshire's senior Children's Manager. He believes things are no better than when he was forced from his job. At the end of 1999, staff still working for Flintshire, but too frightened to risk their jobs by speaking out, passed further, similar allegations about children on to him. Chris has passed on these latest allegations to be independently investigated by the Audit Commission.

Waterhouse's recommendations, new procedures or the appointment of a Commissioner for Children will not be enough if senior management in local authorities like Flintshire and elsewhere continue to suppress and conceal complaints on behalf of vulnerable children and adults being harmed in council care. This will continue to deter good staff who wish to speak out against harm and malpractice by their colleagues. It needs a change from the present bully culture of senior managers and councillors, if the changes called for in the Nolan Report are to be carried out.

There is still concern that the Report has not looked hard enough into the covering up of abuse at the highest level. Whistleblowers concerns passed on to national politicians have been passed back to be dealt with in Wales. Thatcher and Tony Newton passed Alison Taylor's concerns back to the Welsh Office where Derek Brushett, now serving 15 years for multiple paedophilia, was senior social services inspector. David Hanson, Murphy's Junior Minister, similarly urged Chris to take his concerns back to Andrew Loveridge, the Flintshire County Solicitor who failed to support whistleblowers and suppressed earlier reports on abuse. Lord Utting blames the cultures of the old big pre-1996 Social Services Departments. We say there is plenty of evidence that suppression of whistleblowing is alive and well in the small post-1996 unitary authorities too.

How can social services bosses be prepared to turn a blind eye to staff who are harming some children- and yet remove other children from their parents for inflicting the same type of harm?

For more information, contact Chris Clode, Tel: 01978-750583 Fax: 01978-756851 email: clover.care@tesco.net
Freedom to Care will be covering the Waterhouse Report on its website: www.freedomtocare.org

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