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Child Sexual Abuse Inquiry: County Council to Discover on Friday If They Will Be Included in Investigation

Newark Advertiser
November 26, 2015

http://newarkadvertiser.co.uk/articles/news/Child-sexual-abuse-inquiry-County-council-to

Alan Rhodes will make “an unreserved apology” to survivors of child abuse if Nottinghamshire County Council is found to have failed in its duty of care.

The leader of the county council was speaking ahead of tomorrow’s announcement by Lowell Goddard, chair of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse, about which investigations will form the first part of the inquiry’s major work.

Nottinghamshire County Council will find out then if it will be examined by the inquiry.

Currently, two investigations – Operation Daybreak and Operation Xeres – are being run by Nottinghamshire Police. Xeres concerns allegations in north Nottinghamshire, including at South Collingham Hall and Caudwell House in Southwell. All of the centres have either closed or changed use since the alleged abuse, and none of the allegations relate to their current use.

Mr Rhodes said: “If there has been organisational or institutional failings, then there needs to be accountability.

“And, importantly, I am prepared to make an unreserved apology to survivors if our council is found to have failed in our duty of care to children.

“Children’s homes should always have been places of safety, so harm in them of any kind is an appalling abuse of duty and trust. Anyone who was abused as a child absolutely deserves our sympathy and support. From the outset, we have taken these allegations seriously, and devoted a great deal of time and effort to look into them, support survivors and the police investigations.

“It is important to make clear that the landscape of the past bears no resemblance to that of the present.

“My pledge to all survivors is that we will continue to do everything we can to support them and expose any wrong-doing in the past. We will not shy away from these allegations of historical abuse.

“We will work with the police to take our investigations wherever the evidence leads us and we will leave no stone unturned.

“Please be assured that this council will do everything in its power to put right the wrongs of the past.”

 

 

 

 

 




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