Brandon Muir: Government Press Release

Following on from the previous post Scottish Children's Minister Adam Ingram has requested that copies of the reviews on the death of Brandon Muir are circulated to all of Scotland’s child protection committees to ensure that the recommendations and lessons were shared with all child protection agencies and staff. Calls for the Scottish Government to legislate to ensure that more children are taken into care, and sooner, to prevent them being put at risk were rejected by Mr Ingram. Legislating for every eventuality would be an impossible task he said.

Scottish Government Ministers also announced that:

* All national recommendations from today's reports will be taken forward as part of the national review of child protection guidance which is already underway and which will be published next year

* A new national child protection co-ordinator is to be appointed to work with the country's 30 child protection committees to drive up standards of care and support for vulnerable children. The expert will be tasked with working with local authorities to implement and embed best practice on child protection, building stronger local professional networks and improving joint working between areas

* The UK's first hub of child protection expertise - the Multi-Agency Resource Service (MARS) - has now begun its work at the University of Stirling, helping Scottish local authorities and their partners work through complex child protection cases and provide enhanced support for professionals in this field to better safeguard the needs of children at risk

* The Scottish Government is in the process of establishing a new national Modernising Community Nursing Board to support NHS Boards in improving the quality of community nursing services. This will help address the national recommendation relating to community nursing

Full Press Release Source Scottish Government 19 August 2009

Read more...

Brandon Muir: Independent Review

An independent review into the death of Dundee toddler Brandon Muir released yesterday has identified weaknesses in the way the authorities attempted to safeguard him from harm. The two-part review consisted of an independent inquiry into the events leading up to Brandon’s death, conducted by former Chief Constable of Fife Constabulary Peter Wilson, and a significant case review undertaken by independent social work consultant Jimmy Hawthorn.

Key points in the final days of Brandon;

• Brandon Muir and his sibling had been living with their mother at the home of her parents in Charleston for almost four months up until the point when Heather Boyd established a relationship with Robert Cunningham and moved back with him to her flat in Douglas. She removed Brandon from her parents’ home to live with her and Cunningham on 26 February and his sibling on 1 March 2008.

• The grandparents immediately raised their concerns with Social Work.

• Social Workers who had a previous knowledge of Heather and her children through her office appointment in November 2007 and her attendance at the Family Support Centre, became concerned about her change of attitude, and convened an urgent meeting of child protection partners. (28th February 2008)

• The meeting concluded that an urgent case conference should be convened (set for 18th March 2008), but that there were no immediate grounds for removing the children at that time. There were a number of contacts and visits to the family by social work and health professionals in the intervening period, and Brandon was voluntarily brought by his mother to have his gait checked by the family GP. No significant medical concerns were identified or recorded.

• Brandon Muir died on 16th March 2008 following a violent assault by Robert Cunningham.

• The Review concludes that the assault on Brandon Muir by Robert Cunningham which proved to be fatal, could not have been predicted, and that in the short period when Brandon was living with his mother and Robert Cunningham there was little opportunity for the authorities to prevent the fatal assault on Brandon.

• Although it later became known that H had been taking drugs and had been involved in prostitution, this had never come to the attention of any of the agencies she was involved with.

The Review found that professionals involved had quickly responded to the emerging risk to the family as it was known, and had initiated appropriate steps to consider their needs. However, it was revealed that there were a number of factors affecting the leadership, resourcing, and practice of child protection in Dundee at that time. Some of these matters were identified and addressed as a result of early internal review work, others have been identified and addressed in consequence of the Joint Inspection of Child Protection in Dundee. A number of recommendations and observations were made aimed at further strengthening the child protection arrangements.

Full Review (pdf) Source Dundee Children and Young Persons Protection Committee 19 August 2009

Read more...

At-risk Children Left in Danger

On Tuesday a report by HM Inspectorate of Education on Dundee's children's services brought forward after the killing of toddler Brandon Muir says child protection there was unsatisfactory. Social workers had been alerted to concerns over Brandon before he was killed by his mother's drug addict boyfriend, Robert Cunningham, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The damning report highlighted the failures of the Council, the police, heath services and court officials in Dundee to protect vulnerable children from "significant harm" in the homes of drug addicts and alcoholics.

Full article Source The Scotsman 24 June 2009

Read more...

Privacy and the Family Courts

After thousands of family court hearings that previously would have taken place in private in England & Wales were opened to the media in April following lobbying from fathers’ groups, campaigners and the media, the Earl of Spence and his wife Caroline are seeking injunctions on press coverage. Mr Justice Munby earlier rejected requests to ban the press from their divorce hearing saying it was a new public policy that the media be allowed to attend family hearings unless proper grounds could be shown to exclude them.

Full story Source The Times 24 June 2009

Update: The Earl of Spence and his wife Caroline decided to resolve the issues without the aid of the judge. Details of their final settlement will not be made public.

Report Source The Telegraph 24 June 2009

Read more...

Brandon Muir Sentence

Robert Cunningham convicted of killing Brandon Muir earlier this month ( see this post) has been jailed in Glasgow today for 10 years.

Urging the judge to be careful when considering a critical social inquiry report on Cunningham as the social work department "were not a disinterested party in this case" Ian Duguid QC, told the judge that his client did not mean to harm Brandon.

In his statement Judge John Morris told Cunningham "Your assault upon him was sufficient to rupture his internal organs and must have caused him considerable pain."

"Such an act of wanton violence against an innocent child, aggravated as it was by your failure to obtain medical assistance for him knowing what you had done must be marked with a substantialprison sentence."

Full story Source The Herald 31 March 2009

Read more...

Fast Tracking Children at Risk

In the wake of the Brandon Muir case Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop MSP announced funding for a fast track information system for children at risk. According to a report in The Journal the Vulnerable Person's System (VPS) will help agencies react faster to changes in a child's circumstances in the future to keep them safe from neglect and abuse. In the initial stages the system will "allow police forces to share secure, accurate and up-to-date information electronically, it will be open to other agencies in due course."

Read more...

Grandparents Apart

Thanks to Arnie Saccnuson for forwarding an email from Jimmy Deuchars of Grandparents Apart UK about their demonstration held on Thursday in Glasgow's George Square. Around 20 supporters of the group were joined by councillors and former MSPs as part of a campaign calling for no child be put into care if there is scope for them to live with grandparents.

According to The Herald report protesters were told Scotland can avoid further cases like the Brandon Muir which concluded earlier this week, if social workers utilise the care on offer from wider family circles. Mr Deuchars said that social workers were guilty of alienating "at risk" and vulnerable children from their extended families by too often putting them into care as the first option. He claimed when grandparents attempt a fight for residence they are told they could lose all contact rights and he feels the best interests of the child is something that is being misused.

Jimmy Deuchars founded the support group Grandparents Apart after his daughter died and he lost access to his two grandchildren. The group took part in consultation with the Scottish Executive on proposals for the Charter for Grandchildren (pdf);-

FAMILIES ARE IMPORTANT TO CHILDREN – GRANDCHILDREN CAN EXPECT:

To be involved with, and helped to understand, decisions made about their lives.

• To be treated fairly.

• To know and maintain contact with their family (except in very exceptional circumstances) and other people who are important to them.

• To know that their grandparents still love them, even if they are not able to see them at the present time.

• To know their family history.

• The adults in their lives to put their needs first and to protect them from disputes between adults – not to use them as weapons in quarrels.

• Social workers, when making assessments about their lives, to take into account the loving and supporting role grandparents can play in their lives.

• The courts, when making decisions about their lives, to take into account the loving and supporting role grandparents can play in their lives.

• Lawyers and other advisers, to encourage relationship counselling or mediation when adults seek advice on matters affecting them and their children.

Read more...