My blogs

About me

Location	United Kingdom
Introduction	A driving concern for going on 30 years is the welfare of looked-after children. Originally, this stemmed from ten years working with a children's charity and later as an elected politician and volunteer. I learned of the horrific circumstances in which some young people grow up, and am still amazed that most survive at all and even grow up to live useful lives. But too many do not, as we have seen in recent media reports of on-line grooming, young offenders, trafficking etc. Government policies - and politicians - address the issue but without much greater public awareness and understanding of the issues, the hard-pressed and undoubtedly under-paid professionals working in this field will struggle to make the legislation effective. So this is where I thought, hang on a minute ... But of course there are other issues where it seems to me there are factors not taken into account.

Location

United Kingdom

Introduction

A driving concern for going on 30 years is the welfare of looked-after children. Originally, this stemmed from ten years working with a children's charity and later as an elected politician and volunteer. I learned of the horrific circumstances in which some young people grow up, and am still amazed that most survive at all and even grow up to live useful lives. But too many do not, as we have seen in recent media reports of on-line grooming, young offenders, trafficking etc. Government policies - and politicians - address the issue but without much greater public awareness and understanding of the issues, the hard-pressed and undoubtedly under-paid professionals working in this field will struggle to make the legislation effective. So this is where I thought, hang on a minute ... But of course there are other issues where it seems to me there are factors not taken into account.