Draconian Isle of Man Contact Point

[Mayfly]

How handy dead children come in

The common link as that the children were already known to social services. The common problem is that social services failed to do the right thing. The common political device is to use the tragedy as the (false) justification for an over arching early intervention surveillance system.

The reality is that violent child death's have fallen by nearly half since 1974:

Child killing rate 'drops by 40%' in England and Wales
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8497277.stm

The research was shown to the BBC ahead of publication in the British Journal of Social Work later this year. Researchers examined the number of killings and other - unexplained - violent deaths of children aged 14 and under. In England and Wales, between 1974 and 2006, the annual number of such deaths fell by 38% from 136 to 84. As a proportion of the child population, violent death rates almost halved from 32 to 17 per million children.

So, statistically, you can now argue that Britain is one of the safest places to bring up children and that the real problem is the paranoia culture orchestrated by the Government.

[Elaine Kirk]

Thanks for that link Mayfly

One thing is certain, in this small community, if families cannot approach the system in confidence then they are a lot less likely to seek help for their children in the first place.

Strangely enough I was toying with the idea of a poll earlier , and was struggling with how to explain the idea, it would have to be worded along the lines of
would you seek help and support from social services or government funded charities if you were having family troubles?

it has to have the charity bit in as governments set up so many fake charities and their response to one saying people don't trust social services would be ''well there are the charities'' so cover it all

If it was UK wide then people are not confused as to whether it covers them, and also of course the results can then be used by all.

Just a though , it may be pretty powerful esppecially when it comes to the media. It would have to have a neutral place on the internet so people dont assume it is connected to any particular group or yet again we would get the bias argument thrown at it.

[Mayfly]

This is getting a bit of interest in the Isle of Man:


Civil liberties concerns over Children's Bill

http://www.manxradio.com/newsread.aspx?id=42561

Concern has been raised about the information database which would form part of the proposed new Children's Bill.

A public consultation on the bill - which the government says will strengthen support and protection for the Island's children and young people - has just been lauched by the Department of Education.

It reflects the recommendations of an Independent Commission of Inquiry and will see the introduction of a children's commissioner.

Civil liberties campaigner Tristram Llewellyn-Jones says the database - which would include details of the child's doctor, education and any carers - is being copied from a New Labour scheme in the UK.

He says the UK scheme has had widespread crticism and as the proposed Manx system goes much further, he's very worried: (play attached clip)

But education minister Anne Craine says while she understands his concerns, she doesn't believe the measures would be any more intrusive than those which already exist.

[HomeEdMum]

Originally Posted by Sheila Struthers

Still not quite sure what to make of this - any lawyers out there!

looks scarily like "overriding objective" means that their objective over rides every other consideration.

Just as, with the CSF Bill, the administrative demands of an LA would over ride the welfare and rights of a child in England where an unregistered EHE is found: a SAO is to be issued with consideration of their suitable education expressly forbidden - because the objective of LA admin for registration and control over rides the needs of the child.

It looks like that.

[Mayfly]

Just to make the point how utterly silly and intrusive the Every Child Matters agenda can get have a look at what they are doing this week in the Isle of Man. Newly formed Multi Agency Teams (MATS), (made of policeman, prison officers, teachers, social workers Uncle Tom Cobbley and all) are visiting the local primary schools to show us parents how to play with our children.

Pause for breath . . .

Northern MAT urges play not TV for young children
http://www.gov.im/lib/news/youth/northernmaturges.xml

‘The very clear message coming from government agencies in the UK and here is that the effects of children watching too much television can be significant and long lasting. This campaign aims to address that, both by showing how some children exposed to too much television can have difficulty socialising and also by demonstrating how parents can help their children play and take part in age appropriate fun activities that don’t cost money.’

and

Each play session runs from 3pm until 3.30pm with the opportunity during and afterwards for people to have informal discussions with MAT team members on the sessions or any other issues in relation to children and families. All parents and members of the local community are welcome to take part.

The really creepy aspect of this is that the MAT is headquartered in the local police station. Go figure!