Social workers have been left “shocked and angry” by an article in the Sunday Telegraph smearing the specialised work of child protection with “false and inaccurate” claims about the practice of children’s social care departments. BASW condemned Christopher Brooker’s article, in which he claimed that ‘children are torn from their parents with no good reason’. A senior BASW official called the piece “irresponsible” and “simply untrue”.
Nushra Mansuri, BASW professional officer, said: “As the article mentions, we have seen a steep increase in the number of referrals being made to social work departments in the last two years, which shows no sign of reducing, but to suggest that social workers and other professionals practice is based on ‘casual’ concerns about children is outrageous and dangerous.”
BASW highlighted the two major reviews of the child protection and family court systems recently undertaken by the UK government, insisting that the supposed ‘scandal’ revealed by the Sunday Telegraph article was not evident in either review despite the vast array of evidence amassed by both.
Ms Mansuri said: “The findings illustrated that the situations that come to the attention of social work departments and family courts are extremely complex often involving multiple issues such as domestic abuse, substance dependency and mental health issues. The real scandal is that children’s social care departments are still severely under resourced two years on after the death of Baby Peter and this has only been further exacerbated by the austerity measures and cuts to public services.”
She added: “It seems incredible that in the aftermath of the sorry demise of one of Britain’s leading Sunday papers that another Sunday paper seems determined to court controversy by printing fabrications. We strongly recommend that the Sunday Telegraph puts its own house in order by providing its readers with a realistic account of what social workers do and put a stop to this scaremongering.
“It is critical that the reporting of such sensitive issues is carried out by responsible journalists whose articles are fair and objective rather than those who appear to wish to tarnish the reputation of a profession that carries out a vital role protecting vulnerable children and adults. The public must have confidence in the media’s ability to report on sensitive issues such as child protection and demonstrate responsible journalism.”