Press releases

BAAF statement on the family justice system

Issued: 11 July 2008

David Holmes, Chief Executive of BAAF said:

“We are increasingly concerned with reports about ‘storm-trooper’ social workers and ‘the secret state that steals our children’. While we welcome the spotlight placed on the human stories behind care proceedings and the accountability of the family justice system, we must also keep in mind the very real dangers that some children face within their own families.

“Every day child protection agencies across the UK are alerted to children who are being seriously abused or neglected. Children who are cold, dirty, hungry and hidden from view. Children who are terrified, or in pain. Children who are living in families where there is alcohol or substance misuse, domestic violence or parental health problems. Referrals come in from across the community – from social workers, schools, health professionals, the police and the general public. The relevant agencies are under a statutory duty to act to protect those children. In such cases children may need to be taken into care for their safety.

“Government statistics show that at 31st March 2007 nearly 28,000 children in England alone were subject of a Child Protection Plan, and the NSPCC estimates that 1 child in England and Wales is killed every 10 days at the hands of their parents.

“We forget these facts at our peril.”