Social workers call for more openness
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) has said the government should consider making more information public about family court cases involving children.
The call was made in BASW's response to a Ministry of Justice consultation on making the family court system more open, which ended last week. But the organisation added that ultimately the individuals involved in cases "should have a level of freedom to decide whether and when" information is made public.
BASW also welcomed the government's decision not to go ahead with plans to give the media a right to sit in on family court hearings and emphasised the importance of protecting the identity of children involved in family court cases unless there are "persuasive welfare considerations".
"Children as we know are generally the least involved in the decisions and actions which lead a family to court, yet are often the most vulnerable of all those involved," BASW's response added.
