The survivors of childhood abuse in care were yesterday promised “truth and reconciliation”. Most welcomed the truth. Some rejected the reconciliation.

The Scottish Government announced a special forum where victims can tell their stories and, perhaps, come to terms with their experiences.

As first revealed by The Herald last year, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission will be set up, a body that will expose abuse but not punish abusers.

It was unveiled in the Scottish Parliament yesterday, by children’s minister Adam Ingram.

“We are considering good practice examples for taking forward a forum to give survivors the chance to speak about their experiences to help come to terms with the past,” Mr Ingram told MSPs. “This will provide an invaluable opportunity to establish the facts, learn from the suffering and use the experience to help us protect and provide for children in the future.”

Support groups have long campaigned for a place where their stories can be told. But they remained split on Mr Ingram’s proposal.

Children of jailed parents are the “invisible” victims of crime, Scotland’s children’s tsar said today. A new report before the Scottish Parliament highlights the trauma faced by around 13,500 children who have a parent in prison.

THE Scottish Government has announced funding of £667,775 as part of its ongoing commitment to improving the lives of the people of Malawi.

The opening of a new cancer care unit in Perth has moved a step closer thanks to a £1m donation. The Macmillan Cancer Support Appeal has been given the money by the Gannochy Trust.

Failings in Clackmannanshire Council’s children’s services have been criticised by education inspectors. The HMIe review comes after a 12-month inspection was carried out to determine the level of care offered to vulnerable youngsters in the area.

Council leader Janet Cadenhead admitted a “less than adequate” service had been provided in the past. She blamed the department’s failings on low staffing levels and insisted the service was now improving. The report assessed services between March 2006-2007.

During the period of inspection, staffing levels within the department reportedly fell to as low as 30% – at one point 12 out of 18 social worker posts were vacant.

The limited staff numbers resulted in a reduced service for those in the greatest need. The council said its child care service was now fully staffed and that staff morale was improving.

It also insisted best practice was being developed and that there had been significant investment in staff training.

A Scottish truth and reconciliation forum is to be set up to support adults who suffered childhood abuse, initially focusing on the needs of survivors of historic abuse in residential care.
 
The move was among a package of support for adult survivors of abuse committed while they were children in care announced by Children’s Minister Adam Ingram today.

In a move which sets out the Scottish Government’s commitment to confront the past abuse of children in residential care, Mr Ingram unveiled plans for:

– A Scottish truth and reconciliation model
– A national service framework to support survivors of historic in-care abuse
– Improvements to the residential child care system, including better staff training and development
– A review of the law to address shortcomings in public records held on children in care
– The specific remit of the joint Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council inquiry into abuse at Kerelaw residential school.

QUESTIONS over Fife Council’s new home care charges have been circulating for several months. In this exclusive one-to-one interview with the Fife Free Press,

Recruiting officers from an NHS board in England will travel north of the border this month in an attempt to poach Scottish nurses.

NHS FIFE paid out a record £1.7 million to patients who brought clinical negligence cases against the health board last year.

Pressure has mounted on Scottish ministers after a senior judge ruled that authorities acted unlawfully by refusing an official investigation into the deaths of two patients who died after being infected with hepatitis C through NHS blood transfusions.