Lost in Care abuse report recommendations reviewed

Sir Ronald Waterhouse was the chair of a tribunal which heard evidence from 650 people who had been in care in north Wales since 1974

"Open and honest" discussions are being held to see if lessons have been learned from a report into child abuse in north Wales care homes.

The meeting involving health professionals and politicians comes on the 10th anniversary of the report.

It focused on the wide scale abuse that took place in the care system from 1974.

Report author Sir Ronald Waterhouse is to see what progress has been made against his 72 recommendations.

He was the chair of a tribunal which, over two years, heard evidence from 650 people who had been in care in north Wales since the 1970s.

Complaints were made to the inquiry about 40 homes in the old north Wales counties of Gwynedd and Clwyd, although most allegations centred on just seven.

Lost in care, a report of the tribunal of inquiry, was published in February 2000.

Delegates at the seminar at the Pierhead Building in Cardiff Bay include Wales' Children's Commissioner Keith Towler, whose predecessor was the first children's commissioner in the UK to be appointed as a direct result of Lost in Care.

He said: "I think it is timely a decade on for us to revisit those recommendations with the chair of the inquiry and with others to see whether we've moved on in our care for these vulnerable children.

"I'm looking forward to having an open and honest discussion with professionals and politicians."

Arranged by Voices from Care Cymru, an independent charity working with looked after children and whose patron is Sir Ronald, the seminar will also hear from Gwenda Thomas AM, Deputy Minister for Social Services.

Sir Ronald will speak with health and social work professionals about the lessons learned and analyse whether local authorities across Wales are now developing and implementing effective care plans for looked-after children.

David Melding AM, chair of the Welsh assembly's all-party group on looked-after children and the sponsor for the event, said: "Lost in Care was a landmark report and it is timely to monitor the implementation of its recommendations from time to time.

"There is no doubt that the central recommendation to establish a children's commissioner for Wales has had a huge impact on the work of the assembly in raising the profile of children's issues, especially those relating to the most vulnerable like looked after children."