This is one for all those who care about children in care (there are around 78,000 children living in foster homes, children's homes and unregulated settings in England right now), and about government transparency and accountability. Last Friday, 24 April, around 100 changes 1/
to the law were imposed without any public consultation or time allowed for Parliamentary scrutiny. The changes affect children in care, and children who currently live with their families and could come into care. They also affect parents. We count 65 removals or weakening of 2/
legal protections. The changes affect social worker visits to children in care, independent reviews of children in care, the independent scrutiny (pre-court) and speed of adoption, safeguards around children in care being placed many miles from their home area, safeguards for 3/
disabled children and others who have 'short breaks', with whom children in care live, & the notification of criminal convictions and infectious disease. Statutory timescales for Ofsted inspections of children's homes have been removed 4/
and independent scrutiny of children's homes diluted. Children's homes have become a place of detention under the Coronavirus Act 2020. All these changes, and more, were made by a single statutory instrument with no Parliamentary debate whatsoever. An Explanatory Memorandum 5/
published by the Department for Education said there was no time for the normal 21-day Parliamentary scrutiny period because it "has consulted informally with the sector who have asked for these changes to be in force as a matter of urgency". 6/
But the organisations named in the Explanatory Memorandum say they were not consulted. This is where democracy comes in. Or so you'd think. An MP, a former social worker, tabled a series of questions. These were answered yesterday. Except they weren't. 7/
The same answer was given for all five questions. The MP asked which organisations had been consulted. Not answered. She asked what date work started on changes to care planning regulations (the law affecting social worker visits and other vital safeguards). She referred to 8/
a statement from a previous Children's Minister, dated June 2019, in which it was said the government was going to review the regulations. (This is important because the government is claiming all these changes to children's law are directly linked to COVID-19). Our 9/
current Children's Minister failed yesterday to give the date that work started on changing these protections. The MP's third question set out the specific regulations which were changed without Parliamentary scrutiny last Friday. She asked which organisations had asked for 10/
changes to which regulations. The Minister didn't answer. Prepare yourself for the next question. The MP asked how many councils had told the government they would be unable to make a telephone or video link call to children in their care every 6 weeks. This is one of the 11/
newly 'relaxed' duties. The Minister didn't answer. The fifth question concerns the country's Chief Social Worker for Children and Families. The MP asked what discussions there'd been with her about the changes to children's legal protections. The Children's Minister 12/
failed to answer this question as well. Thanks for staying with us. Just one more thing. In 2016/17, the government tried to change the law to allow councils to opt out of their legal duties to children in care and others for up to 6 years. Parliamentarians & many others 13/
opposed this. Ministers were forced to backtrack. There were further attempts to disrupt and destabilise children's legal protections in 2018/19. Our Children Act 1989 is seen across the world as the gold standard. Regulations implement the spirit and letter of the Act. 14/
We'd love to get back to celebrating the legislation, and to be part of working out what more children need to have great lives. Instead, we're having to defend the law from repeated surprise attacks. You may have heard that Ministers intend these changes to be temporary, 15/
that they expire on 25 Sept. But this date is the 6-monthly review of the Coronavirus Act. Ministers can extend that, just as they can Statutory Instrument 445. If you want to join us in defending children's rights, more here: article39.org.uk/scrapsi445/ /END 
