Report criticises Sheffield Council

A Serious Case Review has criticised a local authority for failing children in their area. One case involved a child who was left to die in a public house by her mother and stepfather. The Review referred to the case of Baby P, who died after months of abuse at the hands of his mother and her boyfriend.

Claims can be brought against social services for failure to protect children. One such case was D v East Berkshire Community Health NHS Trust [2003] EWCA Civ 1151 [2004] 2 WLR 58 

This was the first of three linked cases, involving parents who had been falsely and negligently accused of abusing their children. Both sets of parties (children and parents) sued on the basis that psychiatric harm had been caused to them, that such harm was foreseeable and that a duty of care arose on the part of the local authorities and healthcare professionals who, in the discharge of their professional functions, negligently made these false allegations. The children’s claims were allowed to proceed, but the parents could not claim.

See The Star 24 September 2009 Report slams social workers