Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

MPs push for more children to be taken into care

As the number of inquiries into allegations of child abuse in institutions from the BBC to the NHS grows, a cross-party committee of MPs has today recommended that more children be taken into care when social services suspect they are being abused and neglected.

The Education Select Committee’s inquiry into the child protection system found that children were left for too long in damaging situations, and called for an urgent review of how the system can meet the needs of older children. The report, published this morning, said:

‘There is evidence that children have been left too long in neglectful situations. To tackle this, child protection guidance for all front-line professionals should include an understanding of the long-term developmental consequences of neglect and the urgency of early intervention.’

The MPs were also concerned that children of asylum seekers were being kept in destitution.

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