Apologies all - I wasn't aware that different letters are circulating. I can't upload the letter, but the key elements are:
The Commission has been set up by the Home Secretary and is specific to England and Wales, but will liaise with ongoing inquiries in Northern Ireland and Scotland to ensure that relevant information is shared.
The Terms of Reference are extremely broad, so it is not clear wht files or records will be requested, but in the meantime no line of investigation should be curtailed by premature destruction of records that may be needed as evidence. You should therefore retain any and all of documents, correspondence, notes, emails and all other information, however, held, which contain or may contain content pertaining directly or indirectly to the sexual abuse of children or to child protection and care. For the purposes of this request - children relates to any person under the age of 18.
The list of records etc may include, but is not limited to any material, reports, reviews, briefings, minutes, notes and correspondence :
- in relation toallegations (substantiated or not) of individuals, organisations, instituions, public bodes or otherwise who may have been involved in, or have knowledge of, child sexual abuse, or child sexual exploitation;
- in relation to allegations (substantiated or not) or individuals having engaged in sexual activity with, or having a sexual interest in, children;
- in relation to institutional failures to protect children from sexual abuse or other exploitation;
- relevant to statutory responsibilities for the care of children in public or private care;
- relevant to the development of policy on child protection;
- relevant to the development of legislation on child protection;
- relating to the determination of the award of Honours to persons who are now demonstrated to have had a sexual interest in children or are suspected of having had such an interest. It is not possible to produce a definitive list under this category, so you are to ensure that no documentation relating to the aware of Honours to any person is destroyed pending the outcome of the inquiry.
I would be useful to share how we are interpreting this. Does it relate to all Children's records, including Education, or is it just Child Protection?
The letter must also be passed to LADO's, so does that include LADO investigations (where some records are ruled by Employment Law so need to keep this in mind - what is the council's responsibility in this circumstance?)
Do we keep everything, or is there any value in reviewing our records to see what is in scope and what isn't? Given that the list covers information relating to "child protection and care".
Would welcome any contributions, and will keep posting updates from Merton.
regards
Madi
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