Bewry raised concerns when he blew the whistle on Norfolk County Council for housing unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in unsupervised private rented accommodation, which he argued was tantamount to child neglect and abuse. Months later, Norfolk removed Bewry's own teenage foster children from his care without consulting him. The High Court last month ruled this to be unlawful.
Leaving aside the allegations about the treatment of asylum-seeking children — despicable, if true — Bewry's case highlights a serious weakness in systems to safeguard looked-after children. Local authority foster carers are classified as "self-employed" and are not protected by the Public Interest Disclosure Act. Unlike council employees, foster carers do not have the right to be represented at any hearing that can affect them and their work. It is a loophole that promotes a culture of mistrust in which people cannot be confident about exposing malpractice without fear of reprisal, which thoroughly undermines safeguarding efforts.
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