Herefordshire Council to hold urgent meeting after children were "utterly failed"
The meeting today will discuss the "swift and decisive" action needed to improve the children's services
An urgent meeting is being held by Herefordshire Council today after they promised to take action after their children's services were criticised.
A High Court judge, based in the Family Division of the High Court in London, said the council had "utterly failed" three children in their care.
Mr Justice Keehan has questioned whether the services are fit for purpose following eight years of "egregious and long-standing failures" by the local authority.
The children - who are now 17, 13 and 11-years-old and cannot be named for legal reasons - were placed into foster care in 2012.
The ruling said how the council had not used a previous hearing in 2013 as a basis to challenge and change the children's "distorted perceptions" of their family.
Mr Keehan also said how the authority failed to promote contact with their mother and failed to take any steps to promote a connection with their family.
The ruling also stated that the mother was not involved in any decision making which lead to the tragic death of another child, their 14-year-old sibling, two years ago.
The child fell ill with septicaemia and the ruling said how the council "gave consent to medical procedures without any discussion with the mother or any application to the court for a best interest decision".
Mr Justice Keehan said:
"The children have been utterly failed by this local authority.
"By its actions, failures and omissions over the course of the last eight years it has compounded the emotional and psychological harm the children have suffered.
"The local authority has ignored, indeed, challenged the advice of a hugely experienced child psychiatrist for reasons which I do not begin to understand".
Council Leader David Hitchiner has apologised to the family and said the ruling proved previous steps to improve the services had "fallen short".
An extraordinary meeting has been called to discuss the "swift and decisive action" needed to improve the services.
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