An
Open letter to all Political party leaders
To all political leaders in the UK,
As you all know the election is just around the corner,
yet the election is extremely difficult to predict, and due to this
political tensions on divisive issues are set to cause further
divisions and debates on the political battle field.
However in this, we loose what is truly important, not
winning votes, but what is best for the British people. Especially
those who do not have a voice, or are extremely under represented in
society, such as the elderly, disabled, and the group I will be
writing on, Children in care and Care leavers.
I remember a news article from 11th March 2015 based on a report given by Members of Parliament stating that “Children in care failed by government” and “get a raw deal”, which having been through the care system, I completely agree with. It is not fair or right that a child in care, has to fight for months just to get support from mental health professionals which is often minimal and doesn't truly help the individual. Nor is it right that the system is based on on a “tick box” bureaucratic nightmare, which means that the social worker assigned to the individual is unable to spend as much time with the individuals as they should as they spend a hefty chunk of their time filling out unnecessary paperwork that does not reflect the needs of the individual. Which I find is one of the biggest failings of the care system.
If social workers had less paper work to do, it would
free up a lot more time which could cut costs on the social workers
time, but more importantly give social workers the time to meet an
individuals needs and helps them to flourish into the people they
could become, rather than the failures which sadly most of them
become, as when I last checked the number of people who had been in
care and was homeless at some point in their lives, in and out of
prison, on benefits most of their lives, etc is over (these are only
rough figures) 90% with only round about 30% attaining GCSE's and
then only 6% going to university out of around 57,000 Children in
care, which is a huge failing on the governments part.
The State through the courts have taken these children into their care as they were either neglected and abused by their parents (or both) and then they move from children homes to foster cares, and sometimes into temporary accommodation such as bed and breakfasts throughout their time in care, and most do not receive the emotional and psychological support they desperately need which makes them more likely to go into prison, with over 1/3 of all prisoners having been in care, and nearly 50% of under 21 year old's in prison being from a care background, bearing in mind that out of the adult population only 1 or 2% of all adults go to prison. This further shows the state failings of children in care, if this was a child of parents in the uk, they would ironically, but likely, end up in the care system that is supposedly supposed to take these children away from such a harsh upbringing and fate.
All of these concerns, and so much more, desperately
need to looked at and fixed in the next Parliament, as this is
neglect on part of the Government to fail to provide the care needed
to help the majority of children in care, and care leavers to
flourish.
So my Questions to all Party Leaders follow:-
1) What are your plans to help to reform the care system
so that most people who leave care can have a happy and successful
future which many currently lack?
2) Will you pledge more funds to Social services and
make this a protected area in terms of cuts? As further cuts to this
sector could cause its collapse of an already failing system.
This is a vital service to this country however the service is currently neglected by parliament and seldom talked about, which is damaging to the system itself.
I hope that you consider these issues and commit to
building a care system that creates a positive and bright future for
all those who has been taken into care.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
