Government must improve care from vulnerable children

4.26.56pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 30th Sep 2009

Commenting on the child protection statistics released today, Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson Margaret Smith MSP said:

“The human costs of these statistics can be seen in tragic cases like little Brandon Muir in Dundee.

“This report has found that in 85% of cases where the suspected abuse is serious enough for joint action by social workers and other agencies, the primary abuser was the child’s natural parents.

“Drug abuse played a central part in the Brandon Muir case and we know that across Scotland around 40,000 children are being raised by a drug addict. Thousands of children are potentially at risk here.

“That’s why Liberal Democrats successfully called in the Scottish Parliament last week for the Scottish Government to report back in three months on what action it had taken to focus on children who are at risk as a result of living with parents or carers who are alcohol or substance abusers.

“The Scottish Government needs to act on these statistics and improve the way that we look after vulnerable children right across the country.”