Scare in the community

13.03.08: OVERZEALOUS magistrates were making indiscriminate use of parenting orders and risked ruining the new partnership between the children's home network and a business consortium, said Dr Ernest Lavery.

In a speech to the CBI to inaugurate the scheme headed by telecommunications giant, GigaComs, the director-general of New Ways Children's Homes UK warned that there had been a sharp increase in the number of parenting orders over the last four years.

He said that fines had encouraged compliance by most parents, but not in cases where there were other serious problems. This had led to a 300% increase in the number of children being placed in care. MF