The Royal Court has delivered a stinging rebuke to the Children’s Minister as it blocked a plan to send vulnerable siblings to the UK against the wishes of their mother – warning that the government must remember its commitment to “putting children first” and stop sending children away simply because it is “difficult” to find a safe place for them in Jersey.
The searing comments from Commissioner Matthew John Thompson – who said getting information from the Government had been like “pulling teeth” – were handed down at the conclusion of a case which exposed that three children’s homes are about to close despite the years-long shortage of local residential care spaces.
Heard in March, the case involved two children deemed to be at such high risk that they had been removed from their home, and the government had started to look for placements in the UK, particular at a specialist centre.
“Like pulling teeth”
So serious was the situation that it was referred to both the Safeguarding Partnership Board and Government Chief Executive Andrew McLaughlin – information that the Royal Court was only told on the day of the hearing, “somewhat to our surprise”.
“It felt like pulling teeth to understand what the options were and to test the position of the Minister that the choice was either sending two children off-island or returning them home,” the critical judgment, which was made public for the first time yesterday, said.
If the information wasn’t properly laid out before a hearing, the Minister risked “making very serious decisions” about a child’s future without properly considering the full picture.
“We also wish to encourage the Minister to look at how cases are presented to the Court,” he said.
The Court only made a decision in this case because an Emergency Placement Order was about to expire.
Worsening bed shortage
Three children’s homes were due to close “in the coming months”, the court heard at the March hearing.
One of them was due to close in August because the area around Overdale “was going to be subject to major redevelopment because of the new hospital build and therefore having a children’s home across the road was not appropriate”.
This meant the island is due to lose eight places, while the secure unit at Greenfields is due to be transformed into a “specialist campus”. It has been criticised for its “cell-like” bedrooms and the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry Panel said it should be demolished.
Jersey has 60 children in care, the court heard. They can have a wide range of needs and for some, the island “would never be able to provide for the full range of needs”.
Gov must ensure it has “adequate places” for children
As a result, the Minister had suggested a placement at a facility in the UK, which had specialist provisions like group therapy for children with similar issues.
But the children’s mother wrote to the court asking them not to take the children to the UK.
Commissioner Thompson said it was “clear” that she loved the children and was trying to get help herself.
“She also provided to us a detailed handwritten letter. This letter was heartfelt and very moving; it was more than just a plea not to send [the children] away but confirmed to us that she wanted the best [for them].”
To send a child to off-island care, the court has to be satisfied that this is in their best interests, they have “suitable arrangements” made, and the child and their parents agree.
In this case, the mother didn’t consent to an off-island placement and the court was not persuaded that there was a good reason to send them to the UK.
Commissioner Thompson told him: “The fact that the Minister is struggling with resources, because of the reduction in the number of beds in residential units until the long-term development of Greenfields, is not a sufficient reason to send children off-island.
“[The children] need to remain in the care of the Minister but on-island for the reasons we have given.
“The island’s commitment to putting children first requires the Minister and children services to provide placements and ensure that it has adequate resources to do so.
“We accept that this may not be easy, but the fact that something is difficult is not a reason to send children away or back to a home that is not yet safe without something more.”
This was “not placing an impossible burden on the Minister”, he added.
“Longstanding challenges” with residential care
The island has been struggling with finding on-island placements for high-risk children for almost a decade.
In 2017, months of campaigning to recruit a carer specifically for a nine-year-old boy yielded no results and he was placed in a home in the UK.
Five years later in 2022, a watchdog raised the alarm about another child who had been sent to the UK for mental health care and didn’t receive any schooling because Jersey hadn’t paid for it.
That same year, Express revealed that 20 children had been placed in off-island settings, and 17 were looked after in the UK in just the first half of 2023 – despite this being deemed a “last resort” option. The total cost was more than £3.5m – an average of £178,000 per child.
And last week Express reported that less than half of those who are in long-term care placements have lived in the same home for more than two years.
“Very finely balanced” decisions
Questioned by Express yesterday following the judgment, the Children’s Service declined to comment on the specific case but admitted “longstanding challenges with regard to the availability of residential care for children in Jersey”.
They said decisions on children’s care were “very finely balanced” and added: “It is essential that we find homes for children which meet their needs. Some children have specialist needs which cannot be met through care arrangements in Jersey.
“There are some longstanding challenges with regard to the availability of residential care for children in Jersey.
“The Children’s Services reform/improvement plan provides a framework to address these challenges by creating additional capacity in children’s homes over the next five years.”
That plan includes the refurbishment of Greenfields into a “specialist campus”.
While a leading lawyer, the Children’s Commissioner and former Education Minister called for this vision to be “progressed without delay”, a timeline for a planning application, construction and the eventual reopening of the facility is yet to be provided by Government.