We’re moving to the short debate now, and I call on Julie Morgan to speak on the topic she has chosen—Julie.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. The title of my debate is Righting the Wrongs—Historical Allegations relating to Pupils at the Royal Cambrian and Llandrindod Wells Residential Schools for Deaf Children. I have agreed, Deputy Presiding Officer, to give David Melding and Joyce Watson one minute each after my contribution.

I was prompted to hold this debate as a result of my constituent, Mr Cedric J. Moon MBE, writing to ask me to seek an apology and compensation for the former pupils of the Llandrindod Wells schools for the deaf who have alleged to him that they had been abused in the school in the 1950s. These allegations were made to Mr Moon spontaneously, when he was a voluntary researcher for a book on the history of the school, which was commissioned by the British Deaf History Society. The book is called ‘From a War-torn Town to a Country Exile—A History of the Royal Cambrian and Llandrindod Wells Residential Schools for the Deaf 1846-1973’.

Mr Moon is a distinguished campaigner for the rights of deaf people and was awarded an MBE for his work for services to equality and voluntary service to the deaf community in south Wales. In his research, he interviewed many former pupils of the school and also read the school log books and minutes of the governing body. The book was published in September 2016. Mr Moon was told that, in 1953, sexual abuse had been committed against some boys by a housemaster. These acts were described in the school log book as ‘unsavoury incidents’. The log book says that, on 19 January 1953, the boys’ complaints were investigated and, on the following day, 20 January, there was a meeting at the school, where several boys were interviewed. The log book says that,

As a result of enquiry (unsavoury details)’, the housemaster said he would leave the following day. On the 22 January 1953, Mr X was reported to have left Llandrindod Wells by coach that morning.

Pupils reported that Mr X visited some of the boys’ dormitories in the night and committed sexual offences against them. Such incidents also happened on various weekend walks. Mr Moon writes that it seems that Mr X selected boys with poor speech skills, presumably because they would find it more difficult to complain. In fact, the actual complaint was made by a pupil with good speech. Quoting directly from the book:

There is no further mention of Mr X in the log book. There is no hint of police involvement. There is no mention of the affair in the WJEC minutes. Mr X was not dismissed but resigned and went back to England. The matter seems to have been swept under the carpet to avoid embarrassment to the WJEC and the school hierarchy. Justice was not served to the pupils. It is unclear as to whether the parents of the pupils were informed of the events.’

End quote. So, as well as hearing about these incidents from former pupils, they are clearly noted in the school’s log book, which made Mr Moon feel he had to include them in the book. The survivors of the abuse that took place in the Llandrindod residential school for the deaf are a small group now, in their 70s, and are understandably reluctant to go to the police or social services, especially when there are communication issues. I wanted to raise this on the floor of the Chamber to see whether there is any way of righting this historical injustice. I understand that some of the survivors are still affected by what happened to them and that the passage of time has not healed their scars, as the book says.

All disabled children are sadly at a greater risk of abuse than children without learning and physical difficulties. However, it seems that deaf children with speech and language problems are one of the highest risk groups. As the reports in the book illustrate, the abuse only came to light when one of the boys who had good communication skills was abused, because he was able to make himself clearly understood and he reported it. The NSPCC says disabled children are at significantly greater risk of physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect than non-disabled children, and deaf children are among the high-risk groups. Evidence comes from a US study, which, according to the National Deaf Children’s Society, is the most up-to-date research on this issue. It found that children with disabilities are three to four times more likely to be maltreated than non-disabled peers. The US study of children in schools in Omaha, Nebraska in 1994-5 found that children with communication disorders are more likely to be physically and sexually abused than children without those disorders. And a different study, commissioned by the NSPCC and carried out by the Child Protection Research Centre in Edinburgh, found that in addition to being at greater risk of experiencing child abuse, deaf and disabled children experience a range of barriers in accessing appropriate responses.

The abuse of deaf and disabled children is underreported and often hidden, and a range of myths and stereotypes surround the abuse they experience. These perpetuate the silence around such abuse and present barriers to help seeking timely recognition and effective responses. Indeed, it is only now that some of the Llandrindod Wells pupils have spoken of the abuse, which is 50 years later, and I understand that that has been cathartic for them. But, of course, many of them have never told their families and friends.

So, what can be done? The WJEC that ran the school no longer exists. A brief history of the school shows that the Cambrian Institution for the Deaf and Dumb opened in 1847 in Aberystwyth, but in April 1850 moved to Swansea. The great and the good of south Wales served on the management committee. Children from the school played in Cwmdonkin Park, near Dylan Thomas’s home, who described them as those ‘Who speak on a finger and thumb’ in one of his poems. In 1941, after the Swansea blitz, the school was evacuated to mid Wales, initially as a temporary measure, but in 1948, the Welsh Joint Education Committee took over the responsibilities for deaf children in Wales, and the school opened in Llandrindod Wells in 1950. The school was controlled by a body of governors, comprised of one representative from each local authority, and it closed in 1973. I’m informed by the Welsh Government that the successor authority to the WJEC is the Rhondda Cynon Taf local authority.

So, what can be done? What am I looking for by having this debate? What I’m looking for is an acknowledgement by an authority, by a public body, that this abuse did happen, an apology and compensation to show that, for those who were victim to abuse, we don’t condone the covering up of allegations of abuse, even those that happened such a long time ago.

Looking back at what happened, I know it was a very different era, but it is still shocking that there was never an official inquiry and the departure—the member of staff at the centre of the allegations simply left without any sanction. These young boys, who were aged 10 to 11 at the time, were living away from home, living away from their parents. They had no hearing. Many of them could not communicate, and they were abused by an adult who was in a position of trust. I do not think we can leave it to rest there. We have to speak out because they couldn’t.

Deputy Presiding Officer, can I pay tribute to Julie Morgan for that most eloquent and moving speech, and also for all the work she’s done over the years for children, and her current work for the all-party group on children? I’ve also had the honour of meeting Cedric Moon, and I also pay tribute to him, in this particular case, for bringing this matter to our attention, but also for his general work for people with a hearing impairment. I just want to make one additional point to what Julie has said. As the prevalence of child abuse is becoming more and more starkly apparent, in the last 20 years we have stopped being naive and we’ve started to see the world as it is. As this has happened, many people who are now in old age, who may have buried a lot of these memories, are obviously seeing these matters being discussed and are thinking about their own experiences and a need for some counselling and some restorative statement to be made. Given that the school has gone, and the alleged perpetrator is long dead—but we need to do something because these people were failed by society.

I want to pay tribute to Julie Morgan for bringing so eloquently to the Chamber what is a very sensitive issue in the way that she has. I think, like David has already said, we have, in society, moved on. Your phrase is absolutely right: from being naive to opening our eyes to reality. The real issue here, it seems, according to the allegations, is that these individuals as children were isolated, vulnerable, disabled, and then abused. That is something we now recognise within society as very often flagging up the potential for that to happen. The only contribution and additionality that I want to make here is that Julie has said that the survivors want an acknowledgement, at the very least, of what has happened. Consequently, people will need support. I think what is important here is that this group of people get the support that they want, in the way that they agree they need it.

Thank you. I call on the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children to reply to the debate. Carl Sargeant.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Firstly, I’d like to thank Julie Morgan for leading this debate today. While the comments I can make on these specific allegations are necessarily limited, it is always important for us to learn from the past and acknowledge the lifelong consequences of abuse for survivors. As Julie set out the specific issues concerning historical allegations relating to pupils at the Royal Cambrian and Llandrindod Wells residential schools for deaf children, first and foremost, anyone with any information relating to abuse or neglect should report the information to the relevant local authority or the police, who have the duty and the powers to investigate. We take all such allegations extremely seriously and I’d encourage those people who feel they need care and support, as a result of abuse, to contact their local authority for advice and the care of support services in their area. I know we all agree that the abuse of children is abhorrent and unacceptable. We must ensure that we do all we can to prevent abuse happening.

As has been mentioned in this debate, disabled children can be particularly vulnerable to abuse. Protecting vulnerable people is a priority for this Government. It’s been pointed out that disabled children were not always listened to; that, at times, they struggled to secure attention; and they were not afforded the same rights as those who were not disabled. Working with local authority partners, there is now an entitlement to advocacy support. Children, particularly those with communication needs, can access a trusted adult, including a family member, the child’s social worker, independent visitor, or a child advocate. We know that disabled children did not always get the support when they needed it. We’ve made those changes now. So, if a disabled child is at risk of abuse, neglect or harm, they will get immediate support. The changes we’ve made will ensure children with disabilities are listened to, and that they get the support that they do need. It’s putting the child first. It’s a child-centred approach. We’ve moved on significantly.

Members will be aware that we’ve recently introduced the social services and well-being legislation, where professionals and our statutory partners now have a duty to report abuse. We also established the national independent safeguarding board and the regional safeguarding boards. They strengthen our safeguarding procedures and bring professionals together to ensure our aspiration to prevent abuse is high on the agenda. The boards are also, Llywydd, supported further by the all-Wales child protection procedures, and the review group have made a mandate to produce and share good practice across Wales. This does strengthen the safeguarding arrangements here in Wales.

As a Government, we’ve learnt that there should never be complacency that these problems are of the past. There is a need for continuing our vigilance. As we’ve learnt more from those who’ve been abused, we have acted by introducing legislation and through our policies and guidance. Llywydd, we have taken action to safeguard against abuse, promote welfare and treat all children with dignity and respect. As a Government we must, and will, continue to listen, to learn and to legislate, and we will ensure that Welsh institutions discharge their duty of care to protect children from abuse. This is a job for all of us. Thank you.

Thank you very much. That brings today’s proceedings to a close. Thank you.

The meeting ended at 18:54.