The second stage of the public inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie opened this Monday. Victoria died two years ago after months of abuse at the hands of her foster parents.
Her foster arrangement was a private one and was therefore not registered or her safety monitored in any way. Up to 10,000 children a year are fostered through similar arrangements, putting some of them at grave risk. Margaret Moran MP is pushing the government to force immigration officers to alert the Department of Health when a child arrives in the UK unaccompanied by its birth parents as a first step to ensuring the safety of these children. Jenni is joined by Margaret Moran and also by Professor Bob Holden, who has studied private fostering for more than 20 years.
