Statement on Rhys
Biggs case - update
Kim Bromley-Derry, Executive
Director for Children and Young People at Newham Council, on behalf
of Newham and Camden Local Safeguarding Children Boards, said:
"Once again on behalf of all the agencies involved, we are very
sorry about what happened to Rhys and we extend our heartfelt
sympathy to family and friends.
"We welcome and support any sentence which sends a strong
message that neglect and cruelty towards children is totally
unacceptable.
"These serious incidents of cruelty took place almost three years
ago and an independent Serious Case Review was immediately
commissioned in 2006 by both Newham and Camden Councils, to ensure
every agency involved could examine its procedures and practices
and learn from the tragedy.
"The review did identify some areas where improvements could be
made but it also recognised areas of good practice. We have already
fully implemented those findings, but we continue to keep a close
eye on how we work to see if there is more we can do to
improve.
"As soon as the trial was over we published the executive
summary of the review and also looked again to see if there were
any implications for the way we deal with the protection of
children.
"In both Newham and Camden we want to ensure that every child is
as safe as possible. That is why we have and will continue to
implement any recommendations from national and local reviews of
safeguarding children."