Luke Clements is the Emeritus Professor of Law and Social Justice at Leeds University.
A report based on major research by Professor Andy Bilson finds (among much else) that children with a disability or mental health concern are more than three times as likely…
Read more
A troubling report by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales[1] concerning a council’s refusal to escalate a social care complaint to Stage 2 of its complaints process, in line with…
Read more
Following last week’s launch of Cerebra’s major research tackling the phenomenon of Systems Generated Trauma, this week has seen two important reports concerning directly relevant issues. Adoption breakdowns On…
Read more
A major research report ‘Systems Generated Trauma’ has been published by the disabled children's charity Cerebra at a launch event in Westminster. It draws on over 10 years of research…
Read more
The Sunday Times and its Special Correspondent Emily Dugan, have to their great credit, persevered with the investigation into wrongful allegations of Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII). The article was…
Read more
An interesting Judicial Review judgment[1] concerning an ALN assessment of a young adult who attended a specialist school in Cardiff. The assessment (under section 140 of the Learning Skills Act…
Read more
What appears to be a ‘first’ - a Court of Protection decision has been published in Welsh on the official by Court judgment website ‘Bailii’ (British and Irish Legal Information…
Read moreFor a powerful film by the Hammersmith & Fulham Coalition Against Cuts click one of the following links: with BSL and subtitles only, or with audio descriptions as well https://vimeo.com/1124827034.
Read more
There is no reason to doubt the noble intentions of the Welsh Government in seeking to improve the rights of Disabled People. There is no reason to question the aspirational…
Read more
The Sunday Times in its investigation into wrongful allegations of FII, carried a further harrowing story on 10 August 2025. It concerns Maeve Boothby O’Neill who died in 2021 (aged…
Read moreParent Blame: Where are we now? (Cerebra LEaP Project, Leeds University). For details click here.
Read moreTackling the Crisis In Children's Social Care Conference (The Families’ Alliance for Change): October 25th 2025. For details click here.
Read more
The Sunday Times in its investigation into wrongful allegations of FII, carried a further harrowing story on 10 August 2025. It concerns Maeve Boothby O’Neill who died in 2021 (aged…
Read moreFor a fascinating paper in the Sheffield Tribune concerning PAS (that has strong FII echoes) click here.
Read more
A good colleague has summarised three ombudsman reports concerning the alarming failures by the key health and social care bodies in Peterborough with responsibility for providing support for a disabled…
Read moreFor an extended ITV interview with a parent wrongly accused of FII, (broadcast on 21 July 2025) click here.
Read more
The Sunday Times has published a further article concerning its investigation into the false allegations that are being made against parents that they are fabricating or inducing their child’s illness. …
Read more
A major article appeared in the Sunday Times on 20 July 2025 concerning its investigation into the impact that unsubstantiated Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII) allegations are having on countless…
Read more
Increasingly I am confronted by cases involving profoundly disabled children where the behaviour of the NHS takes my breath away. Of course, the NHS is generally spectacular when called upon…
Read moreThe failings of Herefordshire Children’s Services have figured in a number of posts in these webpages and these accounts continue – for a recent and troubling Observer Newspaper story concerning…
Read moreFor another – but nonetheless important – report on the political and economic costs of the disgraceful neglect of adult social care in England, click here.
Read moreFor an important and profoundly troubling article concerning the use of 'facilitated communication' click here.
Read more
A recent (May 2025) research paper by Professors Andy Bilson and Alessandro Talia involved a comprehensive review of Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) in England from 2010 to 2021. It found…
Read more
St George's House, based in the grounds of Windsor Castle was founded in 1966 by the (then) Duke of Edinburgh and the (then) Dean of Windsor. It seeks to effect…
Read more
Mark Isherwood North Wales MS and Chair of both the Cross-Party Autism Group and the Cross-Party Group on Disability, has endorsed the comments of one of his Flintshire constituent’s –…
Read more
There are strong rumours that the Government is planning to impose drastic restrictions on the provision of specialist educational support for children and young people – or indeed – scrapping…
Read more
The Shropshire Parent and Carer Council has just published a powerful report ‘Mad, Sad, Glad’ that reflects on the feedback Parent Carers across their county have provided. Parent Carers were…
Read more
The posting that follows, has been published by the disabled children’s charity Cerebra at https://cerebra.org.uk/legal-rights/putting-the-record-straight/. It is a response to the lecture delivered by Baroness Hale of Richmond at The…
Read more
There is no shortage of Children’s Services’ authorities who have lost touch / stopped listening to the families that they are there to serve. As Lord Justice Munby said ‘the…
Read moreArbitrary cuts by to gravely ill children's Continuing Care (CC) support packages appear (to me) to be occurring on a very regular basis. For a details of a crowd funding…
Read more
The 2025 Act Health and Social Care (Wales) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on the 24 March 2025. Its major impact will be to restrict, in Wales, the making of…
Read moreFor details of a 2,500 km Cerebra Fund Raising Relay of 250 stages from Scotland and through England and Wales in June / July’ click here.
Read moreFor details of an ADASS webinar (1.4.25) ‘Blamed Instead of Helped – Understanding Parental Blame in Autism Support’ click here.
Read moreFor scathing criticism of Welsh Government social care reform inaction, click here.
Read moreFor a JUSTICE briefing concerning essential amendments to the Bill click here.
Read more
A major research report has been published concerning the degrading experiences of many disabled children who are denied adequate continence support services. The report, ‘Inaccessible, unacceptable and unaccountable: the provision…
Read more
Pam Coughlan passed away on the 8th January 2025. Paralysed as a result of a spinal cord injury in 1971, she took on the Secretary of State for Health and…
Read more
The deadline for commenting on the Law Commission’s Disabled Children’s Social Care Consultation Paper has been extended, and is now Friday 31 January 2025 (23:59). A copy of my response…
Read more
Tash Ashby was 21 years old when she died. At the time of her death, she was street homeless, living in the undergrowth around Hereford bus station. Her lifeless body…
Read moreAn Association of Directors of Social Services (ADASS) report ‘Blamed Instead of Helped’ makes many important points, not least at page 12 - that autistic parents are three times more…
Read more
A guest posting by Lisa Ballesteros. Background My son, T, wasn’t expected to survive the night. Born at 26 weeks gestation with an alphabet soup of medical conditions, he…
Read moreFor a curious case involving Conwy Council and the Betsi Cadwaladr UHB click here and for a legal commentary on the judgment click here.
Read more
A recent High Court judgment Sammut & Others v Next Steps Mental Healthcare Ltd & The Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust [2024] EWHC 2265 (KB) has identified a…
Read more
An important claim concerning wrongful care proceedings has finally been settled by an English Children’s Services council. The claim was brought by the campaigner Elly Chapple – the founder of…
Read more
In an earlier posting we referred to a judgment of the Newport Family Court that concerned dreadful behaviour by a Welsh council and a Welsh police force. We expressed concern…
Read more
An important judgment, R (A) v North Central London Integrated Care Board [2024] EWHC 2682 (Admin) that confirms the mandatory duty on ICBs to provide care plans that spell out…
Read moreGrow Family Services – for an incredibly powerful video ‘A Parent’s Fight’ in which families describe the trauma of dealing with the SEND system – click here.
Read moreThe Law Commission has published its Consultation Paper on the reform of Disabled Children's Social Care Law. On first reading it looks pretty positive. The consultation closes on the 22…
Read moreAn important ‘must see’ play concerning a mother fighting for support and services in a world full of prejudice – it runs from October 15 – October 25 - click…
Read more
A damning report by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales[1] (PSOW) into ‘a serious service failure’ by the Wrexham Maelor Hospital compounded by the lack of both rigour and candour…
Read more