He started in January, and he's still banging on about it now. Anyone would think that Martin Narey, CEO of a children's charity, had some sort of agenda...
Of course some children will be protected from harm if removed from their natural families - although the care system itself is responsible for horrific instances of systematic abuse. Children who pass through it are typically far more likely to be poorly educated, suffer from mental health problems, misuse substances, commit crime, and enter abusive relationships.
So, some children should be removed from their families. In this it is hard to disagree with Martin Narey. But what he is actually saying is that MORE children should be removed from their families - and it is with this indiscriminate position that switched on people are taking issue. Is what he is saying evidence based? The reality is surely that as few children as possible should be taken into care - the state should always be parent of the last resort.
A strategy of "more children into care" simply translates into a renewed emphasis on targets met and boxes ticked - regardless of the best interests of individual children and their families. Martin should be concerning himself with the reality of children removed from their parents for no good reason, not to mention the children (almost always known to the authorities) who are left with their parents or carers for no good reason. Acknowledging both ends of the spectrum is the best way of ensuring that as few children as possible ever experience the care system, which in itself needs a total overhaul.
Given the current stream of horrific abuse cases, and the climate of uppity parents being punished by the system, this is surely the most sensible approach to take. But it doesn't fit with Barnado's empire building agenda. Excuse me for being cynical Martin, but when you were wining and dining with people as Chief Executive of NOMS you blamed the care system for prisoners' woes. Now, as CEO of a charity that helps vulnerable children (which of course includes those in or likely to enter the care system), you've done a complete U-turn. "A fresh look at how children's homes are set up and financed"? I smell a rat, Martin...
