Social Care: Lib Dem adoption row rumbles on
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
The head of the British Association of Social Workers has accused a Liberal Democrat MP of being "irresponsible" for making claims that social workers are taking children into care to meet government targets.
The MP John Hemming claimed there are problems within the adoption system with children being taken into care when they should not be and he questioned the use of adoption targets.
Ian Johnston, the association's chief executive, hit back saying Hemmings' comments were unhelpful. "It's unfortunate that someone like Hemming chooses to present a very narrow, limited perspective on something as serious as adoption," he said.
Responding to Johnston, Hemming said: "What a number of practitioners in social care have been doing is unjust and fundamentally wrong."
Johnston said he had written to Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell complaining about the allegations and received a response outlining the party's stance, which calls for more transparency in the adoption system.
