Leanne White Report Released
(Updated 14 May 2014)
Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) have released the Report of Overview Group into the circumstances surrounding the death of Leanne White [1] Nottinghamshire Area Child Protection Committee (1994).
The Council had refused to release it under an exemption under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act as they claimed there was a copy available in the West Yorkshire Branch of the British Library.
The requestor found however that in buying each copy £12.30 of the cost went in Copyright fees. Thus when Nottingham County Council refused the request, the successor organisation to the Nottinghamshire Area Protection Committee which was the Nottingham Safeguarding Children Board, of which the County Council has a large membership, stood to gain financially. This of course is a conflict of interest and not a healthy one!
The requestor asked therefore that "separately to the 2000 Act of the Freedom of Information, I ask Nottingham County Council to publish the report digitally either in reply to this request or in their Publication Scheme so that 1. All researchers into child abuse have free and easy access to essential information about Britains history of child abuse 2. The lessons of her death are learned by the most people possible 3. There is no question of Nottingham County Council appearing to profit from a death for which they may been partly at fault. 4. Nottingham County Council are taking a moral and ethical decision"
After some obfuscation to check that the copy in the British Library was the same or not as the one that the Council held, which was in fact never revealed, the report was in fact released " in the interests of openness and transparency". This is of course to be applauded.
My blog post on Child Protection Inquiries and Serious Case Reviews [3] has been updated accordingly.
Leanne White was just one of 18 children who died in 18 months according to the Independent in 1993.! [4]
Please note that victims of abuse may be triggered by reading this information. The Sanctuary for the Abused [A] has advice on how to prevent triggers. National Association for People Abused in Childhood [B] has a freephone helpline and has links to local support groups. Other useful sites are One in Four [C] and Havoca [D]. Useful post on triggers [E] from SurvivorsJustice [F] blog.
Hyperlinks, Links and References
[1] Leanne White Report - Report of Overview Group into the circumstances surrounding the death of Leanne White [1] Nottinghamshire Area Child Protection Committee (1994).https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/194500/response/504855/attach/3/Copy%20of%20Feb%201994%20Overview%20Report.pdf
[2] FOI Request https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/report_of_overview_group_into_th
[3] Cathy Fox blogpost on Child Protection Inquiries and Serious Case Reviews http://cathyfox.wordpress.com/2014/04/02/child-protection-inquiries-and-serious-case-reviews/
[4] 1993 Independent 18 children died in 18 months http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/a-dangerous-place-to-be-young-why-have-18-vulnerable-children-died-in-nottinghamshire-in-18-months-beatrix-campbell-reports-1468975.html
[A] Sanctuary for the Abused http://abusesanctuary.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/for-survivors-coping-with-triggers-if.html
[B] NAPAC http://www.napac.org.uk/
[C] One in Four http://www.oneinfour.org.uk/
[D] Havoca http://www.havoca.org/HAVOCA_home.htm
[E] SurvivorsJustice Triggers post http://survivorsjustice.com/2014/02/26/triggers-what-are-they-and-how-do-we-work-through-them/
[F] SurvivorsJustice Blog http://survivorsjustice.com/
This is all written in good faith but if there is anything that needs to be corrected please email cathyfox@bigfoot.com.
cathyfox the truth will out, the truth will shout, the truth will set you free