News

All agencies within Haringey failed to fully implement the child protection procedures or carry out a proper assessment or investigation of Victoria Climbi‚'s needs, the local area child protection committee has concluded.

The long-awaited publication of the executive summary of Haringey ACPC's case review into Victoria's death echoes the catalogue of failings and inadequacies of Haringey agencies already uncovered during phase one of the public inquiry into her death. The ACPC rejected as unsatisfactory an initial overview report completed in October 2000.

The summary highlights key issues around record-keeping practices, inter- and intra-agency communication, understanding agencies' responsibilities, techniques for interviewing children, and management oversight of child protection inquiries.

Despite the case review's damning findings and wide-reaching recommendations, Haringey director of social services Anne Bristow told the council's policy and strategy committee last year that the review was "unable to conclude that taking any of the missed opportunities would necessarily have guaranteed that Victoria would not have died" (News, page 7, 29 November).

Recommendations include better training and management of the assessment process, clearer lines of accountability for decision making, and interviewing children in their first language. They have been incorporated into an action plan and the ACPC's business plan.

- See pages 10-11 for reports on the first seminar of phase two of the Victoria Climbie Inquiry.