Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Lessons Will Be Learned (part 3655)

It has been said of the world's pledge of "never again" after the holocaust, instead of meaning that we would never again allow genocide to occur again it actually meant that we would never again allow genocide against the Jews in 1940s Germany to happen again. Our social services work in a similar way, and when they said a case like the Victoria Climbie murder would never happen again, they actually meant that no little girl called Victoria Climbie would ever be murdered again.

Everytime the Social Services screw up the we are always told that "lessons will be learned", even if the failings didn't really require 'lessons' as much as basic common sense. Earlier this year Victoria Climbie's mother said that the lessons have not been learned and it now appears that she was right.

It isn't as if the social services are usually reticent about separating children from their legal guardians so how is that when a child is clearly being violently abused they do nothing?

Update: Does the fact that the media aren't naming the mother and stepfather suggest that there is another minor involved here?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Incompetence is a way of life at Haringey Council - they are shameless. This is the same council which has lost[1] £37 million in the Icelandic banks fiasco. Nevertheless, I confidently predict that no-one above the rank of assistant tea person in Haringey Social Services or Haringey Finance Department will lose his job without a whacking great pay-off (and/or a ringing endorsement allowing him/her to transfer to a more senior post in the corresponding department in another London borough). More likely no-one will lose his/her job at all.

Oh it's alright - this was posted today on the Haringey website.

"This was a young life cut tragically short and our thoughts are with his father and family," said Sharon Shoesmith, chair of the Haringey Local Safeguarding Children Board.

Makes you proud to pay council tax doesn't it?

[1] according to the leader of Haringey Council, this money has not been lost: it's just "frozen". BTW the final deposits were made on 29 September 2008 - only just in time to throw a few million of public money down the toilet.

Anonymous said...

Haringey is an example of what happens when you end up with one party rule for almost 40 years. It is the home of the most incompetent and corrupt officials who know that they will never be punished by the electorate.

Anonymous said...

"Does the fact that the media aren't naming the mother and stepfather suggest that there is another minor involved here?"

I can't think of any other reason. Perhaps the mother had a child with the lover after Baby P's birth? Though, as they haven't names the father, perhaps it's a child from that relationship?

Anonymous said...

I do get the feeling that there is something that isn't being revealed.

Anonymous said...

And now we know why the mother wasn't named:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5146865.ece

Ross said...

That makes sense. Poor children.