15th November2024

The Children and Families Truth Commission has published a significant report examining the state of child protection in the UK. The report exposes systemic human rights violations by public bodies and children’s social care services against families and provides practical recommendations for a more just, compassionate, and cost-effective approach to family support.

The matter is being heard in the House of Lords today at 4:30 PM, chaired by Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson. While the event is fully booked, it will be live-streamed online for public viewing.

Endorsed by the University of Birmingham, the report has received strong praise from legal experts, including Grégory Thuan Dit Dieudonné, who lauded its candid, well-documented analysis of the challenges facing child protection systems in the UK. He commended its recommendations for aligning with human rights standards and prioritizing the child’s best interests.

We wrote to The House Of Lords Fri, Nov 15, 2024 at 5:36 PM to ask them:

“Dear House of Lords,  I was eagerly looking forward to watching this Children and Families Truth Commission Report Launch in the House of Lords, November 15, 2024 @ 4:30pm . Can you please inform me when it is due to be rescheduled?”

Natasha informed us :

The Children and Families Truth Commission apologises for the live stream blackout during today’s launch. The connection in the Lords cut the feed. We will be producing a summary of the event and transcripts of the speeches.

We will see if we can provide any information from Hansard tomorrow.

Key Findings

The Commission conducted surveys with families across England and Wales, revealing the following critical issues:

• 93% of families did not receive the support requested from local authorities or services.
• 90% were not offered help for the underlying issues leading to child removal.
• 94% reported inaccuracies in child welfare assessments.
• 69% found their legal representation unsatisfactory or biased.
• 67% experienced their mental health being unfairly used against them in proceedings.
• 94% were unjustly denied contact with their children.
• 86% were unaware of their rights to post-adoption contact.
• 76% were not informed about parental responsibility during their case.

These findings suggest that the children’s social care system frequently violates human rights and fails to provide the necessary support to families, underscoring the urgent need for systemic reform.

learn more about this at Researching Reform

“We personally want to thank the team Michelle Simons, Simon Hepworth and Natasha Philips for all they do for the public members caught in this trap and National Scandal.”