Child abuse

Child abuse lawyer Tracey Storey of Irwin Mitchell’s London office has welcomed the report of Lord Laming, expected to be published today.

It is expected that the report, following a 4 month enquiry will confirm that children in many parts of England are not getting adequate protection against abuse from child safeguarding services following the tragic death of Baby P.

Lord Laming first published a report with 108 recommendations for reform of children’s services, following an official enquiry into the death of 8 year old Victoria Climbié in 2000. These recommendations followed the basis of changes in government policy introduced over the last 6 years.

It is expected that Laming's report today will identify continuing problems in getting all agencies responsible for children to work as a team. The report is also likely to conclude that child protection in some areas of England is unacceptably poor, exposing some children to unnecessary risks and abuse. Lord Laming is also likely to propose raising the quality and status of social workers to help tackle a national shortage of people entering the profession.

Tracey Storey comments: - "It is sad that despite Lord Laming's recommendations over 5 years ago, that local authorities are still failing to act effectively to safeguard children. At Irwin Mitchell, we are still seeing a significant number of cases, where children are being failed by child protection services with tragic consequences."

A report last week from the Audit Commission identified 8 local authorities with inadequate services for safeguarding children and gave a further 41 councils a safeguarding rate rating of less than good.

Irwin Mitchell Solicitors has a national team of child abuse specialists who regularly undertake cases involving professional negligence of social workers, claiming compensation for children who have been failed by child protection services. It is recognised that no amount of money can ever make up for years of neglect and abuse but Irwin Mitchell has built up expertise in representing children in these circumstances, and helping them to rebuild their lives.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of child abuse, our child abuse claims specialists could help you get justice and claim compensation. Call 0370 150 100 to talk confidentially to someone about making a claim or visit our Abuse & Criminal Injury Claims page for more information.