Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2011 10:12:10 GMT
A £1,000 taxi ride to deny a teenager her right to speak
A 16-year-old girl was driven 300 miles to a court hearing where she was not allowed to speak
Even in these stringent times, it seems our social services will spare no expense in pursuing their idea of justice.
Having placed a 15-year-old girl in foster care 100 miles from home, one council’s social workers needed the renewal of a care order – strongly opposed as uncalled for both by the parents and the girl herself. A taxi was sent from Aberystwyth to pick the girl up in Manchester, drive her to court in Swansea, at the other end of Wales, and then back to Manchester. The cost was £1,000 – in addition to which the council insisted on paying a “chaperone” to sit by the driver on the journey.
When the girl arrived in court to explain to the judge why she wished to return home, she was not allowed to speak, although she is nearly 16.
Article 10 of the Human Rights Act guarantees everyone “the right to freedom of expression”, and more specifically Article 12 of the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of Children says that children old enough to understand the nature of a court must have the right to take part and be heard in proceedings which concern them.
So why was it necessary to spend more than £1,000 of taxpayers’ money to drive an unhappy girl 300 miles, just to be told that she was to be denied rights which, if she were a criminal asylum seeker, the court would have been only too anxious to uphold?
Source; www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherbooker/8713007/A-1000-taxi-ride-to-deny-a-teenager-her-right-to-speak.html
MR Blackcabs £0 to join..Then £0 per week..Invitation only..No dummies.
A 16-year-old girl was driven 300 miles to a court hearing where she was not allowed to speak
Even in these stringent times, it seems our social services will spare no expense in pursuing their idea of justice.
Having placed a 15-year-old girl in foster care 100 miles from home, one council’s social workers needed the renewal of a care order – strongly opposed as uncalled for both by the parents and the girl herself. A taxi was sent from Aberystwyth to pick the girl up in Manchester, drive her to court in Swansea, at the other end of Wales, and then back to Manchester. The cost was £1,000 – in addition to which the council insisted on paying a “chaperone” to sit by the driver on the journey.
When the girl arrived in court to explain to the judge why she wished to return home, she was not allowed to speak, although she is nearly 16.
Article 10 of the Human Rights Act guarantees everyone “the right to freedom of expression”, and more specifically Article 12 of the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of Children says that children old enough to understand the nature of a court must have the right to take part and be heard in proceedings which concern them.
So why was it necessary to spend more than £1,000 of taxpayers’ money to drive an unhappy girl 300 miles, just to be told that she was to be denied rights which, if she were a criminal asylum seeker, the court would have been only too anxious to uphold?
Source; www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherbooker/8713007/A-1000-taxi-ride-to-deny-a-teenager-her-right-to-speak.html
MR Blackcabs £0 to join..Then £0 per week..Invitation only..No dummies.