Social Care News

1990s report into North Wales care homes abuse claims published

A report into abuse claims at North Wales children's homes which was commissioned in the 1990s by the former Clwyd County Council* has been published 17 years after it was written following a Freedom of Information Request by the BBC.

The 1996 report by John Jillings, a former director of social services for Derbyshire, was commissioned following claims of abuse at North Wales homes including at the Bryn Estyn children's home in Wrexham.

Mr Jillings' report was commissioned to find out whether abuse in North Wales children's homes was more widespread than was previously thought. Later, the Waterhouse investigation, which took four years to complete and was published in 2000, uncovered mistreatment of children over a period of 20 years.

Last year fresh claims of abuse in North Wales children's homes emerged after the Savile scandal.

A victim claimed the Waterhouse inquiry had not uncovered the full extent of abuse and there were calls for the previously unpublished Jillings report to be made public.

Two new investigations were set up to investigate these claims - Operation Pallial and the review by Mrs Justice Macur.

• Read Mr Jillings comments - report made public after 17 years (BBC story)
  
• Read the redacted version of the Jillings report (downloadable PDFs)
  
• BBC Q&A into North Wales abuse scandal

* Successor councils to the former Clwyd County Council (from April 1996) are Conwy County Borough Council, Denbighshire County Council, Flintshire County Council, and Wrexham County Borough Council.