Tim Yeo, Conservative MP for South Suffolk, has accused Suffolk Council of "kidnapping" newly born babies in cases where the birth parents do not wish to give them up for adoption.
Writing ahead of last night's adjournment debate on the adoption and custody of children in Suffolk, Yeo expressed "deep concerns" about the council's adoption practices.
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As a social work educator and trainer it is hard not to response to these comments. I obviously do not know the full details of the cases in question, but Tim Yeo does not acknowledge in his article the current debate about social workers not responding quickly enough as in the case of Baby Peter. Is this another case of damned if you do and dammed if you don't? There is a clear complaints procedure that could be followed in these cases and there is also the issue of how on earth we keep attracting good quality staff if an MP feels able to accuse a whole department, agencies such as CAFCASS and ultimately the court system who will have sanctioned the decision, of child kidnapping. Does the Conservative party want us to keep children safe or not. Neither departments nor individuals make these decision they are sanctioned by a body of legislation and by the courts. Jane Wiffin