Steve Walker, whose apology follows the completion of serious case reviews into the deaths, admitted that child protection procedures in the area were unsatisfactory when the young people died in 2007 and 2008. But he claimed extensive work had taken place over the past two years to improve practice.
"The deaths of these three teenagers in 2007 and 2008 were a tragedy and we would like to express our sincere condolences to their families at this difficult time," he said. "We deeply regret that at the time social services were involved with these young people there were shortcomings in our child protection procedures. We believe that these shortcomings led to errors of judgement in the management of these cases and we apologise unreservedly for this."
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
