Caleb Ness report is flawed, claims union

The Edinburgh branch of trade union Unison is calling for a public
debate on the report into the death of 11-week-old Caleb Ness,
claiming it contains contradictions and reaches “dubious
conclusions”.

Edinburgh Council is considering changes to social work and child
protection services after Caleb died from being shaken by his
father. The report found the death had been “avoidable” and social
work director Les McEwan later resigned.

The trade union’s concerns centre on what it claims are
inaccuracies in the report and a lack of understanding of child
protection laws.

“Many people are beginning to raise concerns about this inquiry and
the danger of it being used to remodel child protection services,”
said Unison branch secretary John Stevenson.

But a spokesperson for the council denied the restructuring of the
social work department was a “knee-jerk” reaction to the Caleb Ness
report, insisting it was an integral part of the 2007 review of
council services.

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