The review into the deaths of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson and the government’s response to the MacAlistair Review will be published today. These tragic deaths come at a time when the number of child protection investigations in England has reached a peak of almost 200,000 a year. This is a higher rate of investigations than at any time since records were kept. Since 2005 the number of investigations has tripled, increasing every year. Over the same period the number of investigations finding that a child has been physically abused or sexually abused have changed very little.
This high rate of investigations does not lead to better detection of children at risk of physical harm. In Bradford and Solihull, the authorities that were responsible for Arthur and Star we have carried out a comparison to the five local authorities that were demographically[1] closest to them. Both Bradford and Solihull had the highest rate of children being investigated for each of the last three years[2]. They also had the lowest proportion of investigations which found significant harm or risk thereof. Carrying out high rates of investigations does not mean we protect more children; it means instead that resources are spread thin and decisions are rushed. The low rates of investigations leading to child protection plans in these authorities mean that more children and families have been unnecessarily put through the considerable stress of an investigation.
Throughout this century we have seen inquiries following tragic child deaths. The one constant has been that they have been followed by an increase in investigations whilst, sadly, the number of deaths has not reduced.
We hope that the government will fully commit to and resource the MacAlistair review’s recommendation to strengthen family help; to establish family group decision making as a family’s legal right before entry to care; and to have peer advocacy for parents involved in child protection. Only by supporting a change of culture from rescue and blame to working with families will we achieve genuine change and a reduction in harm to children.
Andy Bilson, co-chair of the Parents, Families and Allies Network said:
“I hope that the response to these tragic deaths will be genuine change in our response to families in difficulty. One that will focus on co-creating help for families and doing the counter-intuitive step of drastically reducing investigations in order to do better those that are necessary. The rest of our energy will then be spent in working with families and communities to create a safer and more nurturing environment for our children.”
Parents, Families and Allies Network
Contact Andy Bilson andy@bilson.org.uk and 07976069387
Web: https://pfan.uk
Andy Bilson is co-chair of the Parents, Families and Allies Network, Emeritus Professor of Social Work at the University of Central Lancashire and visiting Professor at the University of Western Australia
Data on Bradford and Solihull
Solihull and 5 closest statistical neighbours
| Rate of children investigated under section 47 per 10,000 children | |||
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
| Cheshire West and Chester | 84.6 | 93.1 | 96.9 |
| Solihull | 165.1 | 141.1 | 195.8 |
| Stockport | 148.2 | 117.8 | 118.6 |
| Trafford | 108.6 | 127.8 | 143.6 |
| Warrington | 146.1 | 141.2 | 174.5 |
| Warwickshire | 103.9 | 110.9 | 141.4 |
| Rate of children placed on a child protection plan per 10,000 children | |||
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
| Cheshire West and Chester | 40.6 | 41.7 | 38.3 |
| Solihull | 51.8 | 37.4 | 41.9 |
| Stockport | 52.4 | 47.1 | 31.1 |
| Trafford | 41.9 | 41.4 | 44.1 |
| Warrington | 50.4 | 38.1 | 40.1 |
| Warwickshire | 44.5 | 36.1 | 40.3 |
| % of investigations that became child protection plans | |||
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
| Cheshire West and Chester | 48.0% | 44.8% | 39.5% |
| Solihull | 31.4% | 26.5% | 21.4% |
| Stockport | 35.4% | 40.0% | 26.2% |
| Trafford | 38.6% | 32.4% | 30.7% |
| Warrington | 34.5% | 27.0% | 23.0% |
| Warwickshire | 42.8% | 32.6% | 28.5% |
Bradford and 5 closest statistical neighbours
Rate investigation under section 47 / 10,000 children
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 297.3 | 217.9 | 218.9 |
| Bradford | 305.3 | 298.6 | 259.7 |
| Kirklees | 158 | 182.7 | 104.3 |
| Oldham | 241.7 | 238.6 | 243.6 |
| Rochdale | 171.6 | 147.1 | 232.9 |
| Walsall | 302.2 | 182.1 | 140 |
Rate of children placed on a child protection plan per 10,000 children
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 96.4 | 90.3 | 81.2 |
| Bradford | 76.6 | 83.2 | 73.5 |
| Kirklees | 47.1 | 60.4 | 33.6 |
| Oldham | 84.5 | 72.5 | 98.1 |
| Rochdale | 81.2 | 62.9 | 67.2 |
| Walsall | 85 | 63.9 | 47.3 |
| % of investigations that became child protection plans | |||
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 32.4% | 41.4% | 37.1% |
| Bradford | 25.1% | 27.9% | 28.3% |
| Kirklees | 29.8% | 33.1% | 32.2% |
| Oldham | 35.0% | 30.4% | 40.3% |
| Rochdale | 47.3% | 42.8% | 28.9% |
| Walsall | 28.1% | 35.1% | 33.8% |
[1] Their “statistical neighbours” according to the Department for Education
[2] See attached tables