5. 4. Statement: The Child Practice Review into the Death of Dylan Seabridge

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:01 pm on 12 July 2016.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Joyce Watson Joyce Watson Labour 4:01, 12 July 2016

Minister, I’m going to make my statement short and sharp and to the point. As you know, I live in Pembrokeshire and I have read many case reviews, and some of them pretty tragic, from that authority. My question to you is this—it’s sharp and it’s pointed—have you looked at how they dealt with this case, have you looked at any learning that has come out of it? Because I can think that this is the third tragic case that has come out of Pembrokeshire, and I can also think that each time we’re told something’s going to happen and something’s going to be learnt, and I’m sure that is the case. But what I really want to know here, and this is what really hurts, I think, in this whole case, is that one full year before this child died, somebody reported it and no action was able to be taken. That to me is what really hurts. Because, if that action had been taken at that time, the outcome could have been completely different. The other issue was that the person who reported it lived in Ceredigion and the child resided in Pembrokeshire. That’s an artificial boundary of authorities. I’m sure that there isn’t a single soul here that would agree that an artificial boundary allows people to put up a hand and say, ‘Not my problem; I’ve done my bit. I’ve reported it but it’s another authority that should deal with it’. I don’t think any of us ever want to be back here again in a situation where you can say, ‘I’ve reported it’, but you don’t follow it through, and that it is reported and you don’t take any action because there’s a bit of legislation that gets in the way of that happening.