From: rico sorda
Subject: Committee of Enquiry
To: i.lemarquand@gov.je, "His Excellency"
Cc: A.Breckon@gov.je, "a pryke" , "Jersey Care Leavers Association"
Dear All,
One simple and honest question.
Why has it taken so long to bring a Committee of Enquiry into decades long Child Abuse in the Jersey Care Home System?
We have a new Chief Minister and Council Of Ministers "COM". What amazes me, and others, is the total lack of any empathy this council and previous councils have shown the Victims of Abuse.
What is it with the 'COM' and reports they don't like? What is it with getting rid of people who don't follow the party line?
Is it just a coincidence that the Chief of Police gets suspended and his DCO gets denigrated for uncovering decades long hushed up child abuse?
Is it just a coincidence that the man held responsible for the Lime Grove fiasco was non other than the independent,un- impeachable Comptroller and Auditor General Chris Swinson?
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Is it just a coincidence that 'YOU' states members are yet to receive the Report from Verita which was handed over to the Chief Minister in November 2011? You are now expected to attend a meeting with Andrew Williamson on the 3rd September without having the Verita Report or Mr Williams re-working of their Terms of Reference.
Now, here is the comically, but tragically sad bit. The reason the Chief Minister called in Andrew Williamson, was, that he said t the Verita Tors's were to broad. This is simply ridiculous. I believe the Chief Minister is a better man than that. The only way I can work out the ludicrous actions of the Chief minister is that he is being out muscled in the Council Of Ministers. I believe, that if the Chief Minister was not being pressured, we would already have a Committee of Enquiry.
Here are the simple Terms of Reference that the Chief Minister and his Council of Minister just couldn't deal with. They are the most basic, ideal starting block, for any Committee of Enquiry.
If the Chief Minister & Andrew Williamson deliver a weaker Terms of Reference than the ones delivered by Verita (below) then I will expect nothing but outrage from the States of Jersey.
Terms Of Reference
The Committee of Inquiry is asked to do the following:
Establish the facts
. Establish the type and nature of children's homes and fostering services in Jersey in the post-war period with a particular focus on the period after 1960. Consider (in general terms) why children were placed and maintained in these services
. Determine the organisation (including recruitment and supervision of staff), management, governance and culture of children's homes and the social norms under which they operated.
. Examine the political oversight of childrens homes and fostering services by the various education committees between 1960 and 1995, by the various health and social services committees between 1996 and 2005 and by ministerial government from 2006 to the current day.
. Establish a chronology of significant changes in child care practice and policy during this period with reference to Jersey, the UK and, if appropriate, France
. Consider and appraise the independent investigations and reports conducted in response to the concerns raised in 2007
What was done in response to concerns of abuse?
. Consider the experiences of those witness who suffered abuse or believe that they suffered abuse and hear staff who worked in these services.
. Identify how and by what means concerns about abuse were raised and how and to whom they were reported. Did systems exist to allow children and others to raise concerns and safeguard their wellbeing?
. Consider how the education, health and social services department dealt with concerns about alleged abuse, what action they took and whether they were in line with the policies and procedures of the day.
. Establish, where abuse was suspected, whether it was reported to the appropriate bodies including the States of Jersey Police and what action was taken by persons or entities including the police and whether this was in line with policies and procedures of the day
. Determine whether the concerns of 2007 were sufficiant to justify the States of Jersey Police setting in train Operation Rectangle
. Determine whether, on reviewing files submitted by the States of Jersey Police for consideration as to whether, on reviewing files submitted by the states of Jersey Police for consideration as to whether or not a prosecution should be brought, those responsible for deciding on which cases to prosecute took a consistent and impartial approach and whether the process was free from any political interference at any level
Children's services in 2011
. Set out what lessons can be learnt for the current system of residential and foster care services in Jersey
Government
Review what actions the government took when concerns came to light in 2008 and what, if any, lessons there are to be learned
General
. Report on any other issues arising during the inquiry considered to be relevant to the past safety of children in residential or foster care
The inquiry should make full use of all the work conducted since 2007
At an appropriate moment, the inquiry should hold a seminar(s) to enable a broader discussion of some of the themes raised by the evidence. The seminar(s) will not make recommendations to the chair but will provide ideas and information that will form of the material to be considered as the report is drafted - END
This is about defenceless Children being abused for decades. Yes, all the authorities were informed over the decades and I MEAN ALL.
How and Why has our Chief Minister and his Council of Ministers struggled with something so simple? Are we still trying to hide our past? It will be our future if its not dealt with in a fully robust and transparent way.
The reason I believe for all the hard work in stalling and basically trying to stop this Committee of Enquiry is 'FEAR'
Pandoras box is open.
Someone give me a very good reason as to why it has taken so long.
Rico Sorda
http://ricosorda.blogspot.com/ Citizen Investigator |