In summing up the end of the first phase of hearings, which concluded on Friday, the chair of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry Frances Oldham QC acknowledged that child abuse did take place in Island care homes and that the panel must now examine how abuse remained hidden.
- The Independent Jersey Care Inquiry was set up following a proposal by Senator Francis Le Gresley that was backed by the States in 2011.
- It has been charged with investigating what went wrong in Jerseys care system in the years following 1945.
- It launched in April 2014 and the first public hearings began on 22 July last year.
- It is chaired by Frances Oldham QC, who is joined by by Alyson Leslie, who has led serious case reviews into child abuse, and Professor Sandy Cameron, a former director of social work in Scotland.
- Hearings take place at 11-15 Seaton Place. Anyone who wants to contact the inquiry can email info@jerseycareinquiry.org, write to PO Box 551 St Helier Jersey JE4 8XN or freephone 0800 7350100 from 8.30 am to 7 pm Monday to Friday.[/breakout]
So far, the inquiry has heard from 203 witnesses regarding their experiences of child care services in the Island since 1945.
The inquiry is now due to break for several weeks before hearing from former staff at Jersey care homes, including some who have been accused of abuse.
Since opening in July last year, the inquiry has heard hundreds of accounts relating to sexual and physical abuse of children in Jersey care homes, including Haut de la Garenne, Les Chênes and La Préférence, since 1945.
Mrs Oldham said: ‘While there have been some positive accounts, most of what we have heard has related to painful and damaging experiences.
‘The first phase of the inquiry has been slow and painstaking, not least because of the difficulty many of the victims have had to wrestle with emotionally in terms of firstly giving a statement and then deciding whether to give evidence in public.
‘I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has come forward and contributed to the work of the inquiry. It is important that we now move to the next stage.’
She added: ‘We must establish the truth about how mistreatment of children remained hidden for so long and what was done when concerns were raised.
‘We must also consider whether appropriate decisions were taken in deciding whether to prosecute individuals – and whether there was political or other interference in those decisions.
‘We now begin therefore an intense period of preparation for the next phase of the inquiry.’
Describing the next phase of hearings, Mrs Oldham said: ‘This is when we will hear evidence from those who worked in Children’s Services or were in contact with child care on Jersey.
‘We will also hear from some of those accused of abuse.’
The inquiry will resume for three days on the week beginning Monday 13 April to speak to a witness who is unavailable at a later date, before fully resuming from the week beginning Monday 4 May.
Despite moving onto the next phase of hearings, any witnesses who were resident at Jersey care homes are still invited to contact the inquiry if they wish to do so.
PUBLIC inquiries have a habit of costing millions more than estimated and, when all is said and done, leave few people happy with the result.
The Royal Commission in Australia into institutional child sex abuse is expected to cost at least £260 million and the Saville Inquiry into the deaths of 13 people on Bloody Sunday cost £195 million.
Some might think that those figures have little relevance in a Jersey context. Let’s hope they are right.
Today, Senator Sir Philip Bailhache is reported as saying that the cost of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry could be at least £50 million, many times more than the estimate of £6 million put before the States when Members voted in favour of a public inquiry.
The States must now decide whether to cap the cost of this inquiry. They are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
Handing over a blank cheque could wipe out savings in the Strategic Reserve which have been built up over decades. The alternative – to borrow the money – is equally unappealing for a community with an innate dislike of public debt.
Senator Bailhache wants to hear Islanders’ views on what the States should do – and whether the cost should be capped.
This is an issue which could affect all of our futures and the voice of the community should be heard.
Former Senator Francis Le Gresley was right to call for an inquiry to give victims an opportunity to tell their stories and to give the community its best opportunity to draw a line under a dark chapter in our Island’s history.
To cut the panel’s work short could be an injustice both to victims and the accused who have yet to respond to allegations.
It would also be a gift to the national media and could cause huge reputational damage to this Island.
But with a new hospital, education and an ageing population to pay for, not to mention a huge black hole in the Island’s finances, we cannot afford a blank cheque.
A workable compromise must be found to enable the costs to be capped. There is a real danger that the inquiry’s biggest legacy will simply be to line the pockets of lawyers – and that is in no one’s interest.
