A catalogue of errors
From top to bottom, Haringey Council have been exposed as a local authority out of control: We learn of the social worker who failed to visit baby Peter, and was so intimidated by his mother that she didn’t ask the questions her professionalism would have ordinarily insisted upon; her boss who approved the decision to return baby Peter to the care of his mother after she had been re-arrested for assaulting him; the head of children’s services who reinforced baby Peter’s return to his family despite unexplained injuries; the lawyer who said that the threshold criteria were not met to take care proceedings; the director of children’s services who was defensive in the light of the public criticism of her department and who was sacked by the intervention of a Government Minister. How could this have happened? Again? Whilst the individuals may have lost their jobs or been disciplined, have they been scapegoated? Something was clearly rotten in the children’s department of social services as a whole. What is being done to train, support and invest in social services in Haringey to prevent anything like this happening again? The residents of Haringey and the public at large have a right to know.