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Archived Transcript for 22 November 2001:
Pages 1 to 50
1
1 Thursday 22nd November 2001
2 (10.00 am)
3 THE CHAIRMAN: Good morning Mr Garnham. I think there is
4 a slight difference between our two clocks. If we are
5 a little early I apologise.
6 MR GARNHAM: I do not think it is going to cause any
7 difficulty because as you may recall, at the end of
8 Tuesday's evidence there was held that an application
9 was to be made today. Miss Hoyal outlined that and it
10 may be that she has something to add to it and it may be
11 others want to say something about it. I would invite
12 you to deal with that first.
13 THE CHAIRMAN: I would like to hear from Miss Hoyal and
14 indeed anyone else.
15 MISS HOYAL: Good morning sir. Yes, on behalf of
16 Miss Lisa Arthurworrey, who is due to give evidence this
17 morning, I make the application that you should exercise
18 your discretion, which is provided for within the
19 procedural rules for this Inquiry, in favour of allowing
20 her to give her evidence in the absence of the Haringey
21 witnesses who are to give evidence after her. This will
22 have the considerable advantage I suggest of enabling
23 the witnesses that come later to give evidence which
24 will not be innocently influenced or contaminated by the
25 evidence that they will have heard from my client.
2
1 Secondly, it will have the advantage of perhaps
2 lessening the level of discomfort that she will
3 experience from knowing that all her colleagues will not
4 be sitting in the public gallery listening to her
5 evidence.
6 THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much. Miss Hoyal, can I be
7 clear? Are you asking that the witnesses from Haringey
8 that will give evidence in due course should not be in
9 the room today or are you asking that they should not
10 have any knowledge of the evidence that
11 Miss Arthurworrey will give us?
12 MISS HOYAL: I am asking that they should not be in the room
13 today. The second aspect of whether they should or
14 should not know about her evidence is not a matter that
15 I am seeking to address you about.
16 THE CHAIRMAN: That is fine, thank you. Miss Lawson?
17 MISS LAWSON: Sir, Miss Hoyal makes two points in relation
18 to her application. The first relates to the
19 contamination of the evidence. You have indicated that
20 excluding people from this Inquiry was going to be an
21 exceptional course. It is true of course that I made
22 a similar application in relation to the evidence of
23 some of the witnesses from the North Middlesex Hospital
24 but it would be my submission that their situation was
25 very different. The conflicts and discrepancies in
3
1 their accounts were being put to them for the first time
2 during the course of this Inquiry.
3 The conflicts on the evidence between
4 Miss Arthurworrey and others who are all separately
5 represented, so they may make their own representations
6 in relation to that, are all clearly identified in the
7 written material and indeed in other documents which the
8 Inquiry has.
9 So far as those whose interests I still represent
10 are concerned, there are so far as I can discern no such
11 conflicts. Those witnesses divide into three main
12 groups: those who played a small but discrete part in
13 the history because they took a telephone referral or
14 rang up the Family Centre, and that of course includes
15 members of the staff in the Housing Department who had
16 conversations with Miss Arthurworrey.
17 Then there are the second group, who are other
18 members of the North Tottenham District Office Team, who
19 again played a supporting role in some part of the
20 history. I think that there are three of them and as
21 far as I can tell they all are supportive not only of
22 Miss Arthurworrey's account but also of her position in
23 relation to what was happening in the office.
24 The third group of course are senior managers and
25 elected members. Again in relation to them there is
4
1 simply no conflict on factual matters within
2 Miss Arthurworrey's evidence and theirs.
3 Sir, as far as I am aware none of them are actually
4 here present today, so I make that point to begin with.
5 But the witnesses of fact have all been told that if
6 they would find it helpful they can come and sit in on
7 the Inquiry to familiarise themselves with the location
8 and the way the Inquiry is conducted and I anticipate
9 that even on the revised timetable some of them may well
10 be doing that at the beginning of next week and, as
11 I say, I have at the moment no idea whether any of them
12 will avail themselves of that invitation but I would
13 like them to be free to do so if they so wished and that
14 is the basis upon which I oppose that part of the
15 application.
16 As far as the second point is concerned, of course
17 Haringey want Miss Arthurworrey to have the best
18 opportunity to do herself justice in the witness box.
19 They have I should say provided her with the support
20 that she has requested from them in relation to that.
21 It is not immediately clear to me why the presence of
22 those who worked alongside her on friendly terms is
23 likely to intimidate her rather than support her in that
24 exercise.
25 As far as senior management are concerned, again, as
5
1 I say, as far as I know none of them are here or
2 proposing to be except for the Director who is here
3 today. She is the senior officer responsible for giving
4 me instructions and I regard the principle therefore as
5 important that she should not be excluded from hearing
6 the case against the department for which she has
7 responsibility unless some really compelling reason for
8 doing so is advanced.
9 Given that, as I understand it, one of
10 Miss Arthurworrey's concerns has been that what has been
11 said or written about her in the past has been limited
12 and that the full facts have yet to emerge in this
13 Inquiry, one might think it would be helpful for the
14 Director to hear Miss Arthurworrey give the fullest
15 possible version on the basis of a rather different
16 factual picture from that which has previously been
17 represented.
18 THE CHAIRMAN: That you think Miss Lawson. Is there anyone
19 else that would like to express a view on this?
20 Mr Garnham?
21 MR GARNHAM: Sir, it is plainly a matter for your
22 discretion, with the advice of your assessors. Sir, in
23 respect of one of the latter points that was made by
24 Miss Lawson it does in my respectful submission have
25 some force that she ought not to be put in a position
6
1 where obtaining instructions is more difficult and you
2 might like to bear that in mind when you consider the
3 position of the senior officer who sits behind her.
4 As to the others, I understand Miss Hoyal's
5 application to be limited to excluding other Haringey
6 witnesses during the course of Miss Arthurworrey's
7 evidence alone and not being a continuing exclusion for
8 witnesses that follow. That may be something you will
9 want to take into account but I say nothing more than
10 that save this, I suppose. The one point I made when
11 a similar application was made by Miss Lawson was that
12 the one point of weight in such an application is
13 whether or not there is a risk of contamination of
14 evidence, innocent or otherwise, and that would remain
15 my submission as something you should have at the
16 forefront of your mind.
17 THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much indeed. Miss Hoyal,
18 could you come and help me again? Miss Lawson,
19 Mr Garnham, if I get this wrong do feel free to correct
20 me. I just want to be absolutely clear Miss Hoyal.
21 There was one expression which you used in your
22 submission which was about innocent contamination. If
23 you could just explain what that means in relation to
24 the evidence that Miss Arthurworrey will give today and
25 tomorrow and not in respect of people who may come
7
1 before us later on.
2 MISS HOYAL: Sir, there will of course be people sitting in
3 the public gallery listening carefully to the evidence
4 that my client gives. Some of those people are entitled
5 without your ruling to be witnesses who will be giving
6 evidence next week in respect of some of the events that
7 my client will be giving evidence about. And with the
8 best will in the world, no matter how honest they are,
9 it would be impossible for them to not be influenced by
10 evidence that they have heard one way or the other.
11 That process we know from criminal trials and civil
12 trials is one that can potentially weaken the validity
13 of the evidence that the witness who has heard the
14 earlier evidence gives, because it may unconsciously
15 influence their ability to recall events accurately.
16 The power of suggestion is of course very well known.
17 In a case of this importance I would submit that the
18 Inquiry will be best served by hearing evidence that can
19 be as accurate a recollection of past events as can be
20 put before you, and I know that in the case of the North
21 Middlesex Hospital evidence it was considered by
22 yourself and your colleagues advantageous that you
23 exercise your discretion in a way that prevented
24 witnesses from sitting in the gallery listening to the
25 nurses and doctors that went before them, so that you
8
1 had a higher quality of evidence, and that is the basis
2 upon which I seek to clarify it.
3 THE CHAIRMAN: I am grateful to you. The difficulty that
4 I need to be clear about, and I am very happy to be
5 guided by the views of any of the three people who have
6 spoken, is this, that we have followed a pattern of
7 posting on our website overnight the evidence of the
8 people that day. Now, when we dealt with the nurses
9 from North Middlesex Hospital we actually delayed
10 putting the evidence on the website until that matter
11 had passed the relevant point.
12 Dependent upon discussions later today, it could
13 well be that there will be some people from Haringey who
14 will be coming not next week but considerably further on
15 down the line as it were. I just want to be clear
16 exactly what the application is. Is the application
17 that you not only want these people excluded from the
18 room today and tomorrow until Miss Arthurworrey has
19 finished her evidence but you also do not want her
20 evidence to be put on the website until that is
21 finished?
22 MISS HOYAL: Sir, I am primarily concerned with the oral
23 presence of the witnesses in the Inquiry. The question
24 of postponing issuing her statement either on the net or
25 by it being provided to other people is not an issue
9
1 that I am seeking to address you upon but --
2 THE CHAIRMAN: I just want to be clear. I am sorry if I did
3 not quite understand. I am clear. If you are content
4 that I have got the message, that is fine.
5 MISS HOYAL: I am trying to limit it because I understand
6 Miss Lawson's apprehension in relation to the clients
7 that she represents and one does not want to cause them
8 to have a perception of injustice in relation to their
9 evidence and their ability to challenge effectively any
10 evidence that goes before them.
11 THE CHAIRMAN: That is fine. Miss Lawson, Mr Garnham,
12 anything you want to add or are you content that I have
13 got the message?
14 MISS LAWSON: Sir, I do not really think there is anything
15 to add. As I say, if Miss Hoyal is saying that she is
16 not worried about people reading Miss Arthurworrey's
17 evidence then in my submission the point about
18 contamination really goes. That is all.
19 THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much indeed. Ladies and
20 gentlemen, I take very seriously the application that
21 has been made and the issues that have been raised. It
22 is as ever not a straightforward matter and I think that
23 I prefer to withdraw with my colleagues and give some
24 thought to it and then come back in a moment.
25 (A short break)
10
1 THE CHAIRMAN: Miss Hoyal, as you will no doubt have
2 realised, I and my colleagues have given very careful
3 thought to the application that you have made this
4 morning. I think you will also realise that my starting
5 point is what is best for the Inquiry and in particular
6 I take seriously anything that may interfere with the
7 quality of the evidence that is brought before us.
8 Having considered the arguments this morning, I have
9 decided that the contamination point cannot be sustained
10 and although I want Miss Arthurworrey to be at ease as
11 much as possible, I have decided to reject the
12 application.
13 MR GARNHAM: Thank you sir, then I will call
14 Miss Arthurworrey.
15 MISS LISA ARTHURWORREY (sworn)
16 MR GARNHAM: Good morning, please have a seat
17 Miss Arthurworrey.
18 THE CHAIRMAN: Good morning.
19 MR GARNHAM: Would you give the Inquiry your full name
20 please.
21 MISS ARTHURWORREY: My full name is Lisa Nicola Dawn
22 Arthurworrey.
23 MR GARNHAM: And your professional address.
24 MISS ARTHURWORREY: My professional address is 768-772 High
25 Road, Tottenham, London.
11
1 MR GARNHAM: I think it is right that you have made two
2 statements for this Inquiry and they are being put in
3 front of you. Sir, the first is volume 2, page 41 and
4 the second page 132.501. You have doubtless had a
5 chance to look through those statements in recent weeks.
6 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I have, yes.
7 MR GARNHAM: Are the content of those statements true or do
8 you want to amend it in any way?
9 MISS ARTHURWORREY: There are two amendments that I would
10 like to make please.
11 MR GARNHAM: Tell us what they are.
12 MISS ARTHURWORREY: The first amendment is in paragraph 165,
13 witness statement 2, page 96. The date of the meeting
14 with Petra Kitchman was on 1st October and not the 7th.
15 MR GARNHAM: Is that something you have remembered since or
16 you have discovered since?
17 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is something that I have remembered
18 since and discovered since.
19 MR GARNHAM: Second amendment you said?
20 MISS ARTHURWORREY: The second amendment is paragraph 246,
21 bundle 2, page 121. The closing summary was written on
22 18th February 2000 and not on 18th January 2000.
23 MR GARNHAM: Thank you. You have signed your statements.
24 Can I take it then that with the exception of the points
25 you have just mentioned you are content that those
12
1 statements reflect a true account of the evidence you
2 can give?
3 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I can say that my statements reflect
4 a true account of the evidence that I am going to give.
5 MR GARNHAM: Thank you. You also provided a statement for
6 the Crown Prosecution Service.
7 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
8 MR GARNHAM: We have that in volume 46, page 11 and you gave
9 evidence at the trial of Kouao and Manning.
10 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
11 MR GARNHAM: Sir, the transcript is volume 50 page 15.
12 Miss Arthurworrey, you set out in paragraphs 261 to 264
13 of your first statement your view of the case now you
14 have the benefit of hindsight.
15 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
16 MR GARNHAM: For the present I do not want to ask you what
17 hindsight, what knowing what has happened to Victoria
18 has led you to think, but I would like to ask you this.
19 Having had the time you have to reflect on matters
20 generally, is there any part of your handling of the
21 case which you feel in the light of the information that
22 was then available you should have done differently?
23 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Yes.
24 MR GARNHAM: Will you tell us what that is please or what
25 they are?
13
1 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I believe if I had been given solid
2 evidence from the North Middlesex Hospital at the
3 beginning stages of Victoria's investigation I believe
4 Victoria's case would have been handled completely
5 differently.
6 MR GARNHAM: That was not quite my question
7 Miss Arthurworrey. I understand that you say that, and
8 we can see that from those concluding paragraphs of your
9 statement. My question is working on the principle of
10 the information you did have, not what you would like to
11 have had, but on the information you actually had, would
12 you now have acted differently to the way in which you
13 in fact acted?
14 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Yes, there are things that I would have
15 done differently.
16 MR GARNHAM: Can you tell us what those are please.
17 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I am going to refer to the second
18 strategy meeting. I am going to refer to the events
19 that took place following the 1st November after the
20 allegation of sexual abuse. I believe that having had
21 the strategy meeting on 5th November I believe that
22 I should have -- I should have arranged to see Victoria
23 and Kouao much sooner than I did.
24 MR GARNHAM: Thank you very much. Can I ask you a little
25 about your qualifications and training before we come on
14
1 to talk about Victoria's case? I think it is right that
2 you have an HND in public administration?
3 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
4 MR GARNHAM: And a BA in community management?
5 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
6 MR GARNHAM: You worked first for Luton University
7 between July 1993 and March 1994?
8 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is right, yes.
9 MR GARNHAM: Then in March 1994 you began voluntary work
10 with Victim Support?
11 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Yes, that is correct.
12 MR GARNHAM: That continued for about 18 months?
13 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is right, yes.
14 MR GARNHAM: Then in September 1995 you began a Diploma in
15 Social Work at Luton University?
16 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Yes, that is right.
17 MR GARNHAM: When did you complete that course?
18 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I completed the Diploma in Social
19 Work July 1997.
20 MR GARNHAM: Thank you. During that time you tell us you
21 developed a particular interest in children's social
22 work.
23 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct.
24 MR GARNHAM: And you did two placements, both with Luton
25 Social Services.
15
1 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Yes.
2 MR GARNHAM: And you tell us that you felt well supported
3 and well supervised during those placements.
4 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Yes, I did, yes.
5 MR GARNHAM: Perhaps that is what one might expect for
6 a student on a placement of that sort.
7 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
8 MR GARNHAM: Your first job was with the London Borough of
9 Fulham and Hammersmith.
10 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Yes, that is right.
11 MR GARNHAM: Which you began in January 1998 and you left
12 there in October 1998 to take up the job with Haringey.
13 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I commenced work with Haringey
14 in November 1998.
15 MR GARNHAM: Having left Hammersmith and Fulham in October?
16 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
17 MR GARNHAM: You tell us that you had a long journey to work
18 each morning when you worked at Hammersmith and Fulham.
19 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Yes, I did.
20 MR GARNHAM: And Haringey was rather closer to your home.
21 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is right, it was.
22 MR GARNHAM: You tell us that whilst you were with
23 Hammersmith and Fulham your work was closely monitored
24 by your managers.
25 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
16
1 MR GARNHAM: And your managers knew your cases, the ones you
2 were handling, well.
3 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
4 MR GARNHAM: And that you were supervised about once a month
5 during that period of employment.
6 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is right.
7 MR GARNHAM: Miss Arthurworrey, you paint a fairly rosy
8 picture of your time at Hammersmith and Fulham. Do you
9 look back on it with some affection?
10 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I do, yes.
11 MR GARNHAM: You have told us, and you say in your
12 statement, that your reason for leaving Hammersmith and
13 Fulham was the travelling problems.
14 MISS ARTHURWORREY: It was mainly the travelling problems,
15 yes.
16 MR GARNHAM: Were there other reasons?
17 MISS ARTHURWORREY: At the time I was working in Hammersmith
18 and Fulham I found the work sometimes overwhelming,
19 particularly on the Duty system. However, having
20 experienced working at Haringey I now can see that I was
21 more than supported whilst I was working at Hammersmith
22 and Fulham, more so than I was when I was working at
23 Haringey.
24 MR GARNHAM: Thank you. Could you have volume 29, please,
25 page 39. This is part of a reference that was done for
17
1 you by Hammersmith and Fulham when you were applying for
2 the Haringey job. In paragraph 18 the referee was asked
3 to state the reasons for your leaving your employment
4 and the person concerned refers to your travelling
5 difficulties and then says this:
6 "She has also mentioned our busy Duty system which
7 she feels is chaotic."
8 Is that what you felt about Hammersmith and Fulham's
9 Duty system?
10 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Yes, I did at the time.
11 MR GARNHAM: So that was another reason for your wanting to
12 make the move?
13 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Yes, it was.
14 MR GARNHAM: Although you do not refer to that in your
15 statement perhaps because you have this rather rosy
16 picture of your time there?
17 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is right, yes.
18 MR GARNHAM: Did you feel unable to cope with the busyness
19 of the Duty system at Hammersmith and Fulham?
20 MISS ARTHURWORREY: As I have said I did find it
21 overwhelming at times but we all just managed.
22 MR GARNHAM: What was wrong with the Duty system there?
23 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I think basically there was just too
24 much work for the social workers to manage. There was
25 not enough time to read cases, look at the issues in
18
1 cases before we had to intervene. Most of the work on
2 Duty was Section 47's, initial assessments, which
3 required urgent responses. Sometimes I felt that I did
4 not really know all of the issues in the case to enable
5 me to carry out a thorough investigation.
6 MR GARNHAM: That is a description of the busyness of an
7 inner London borough. That does not quite explain why
8 you thought it was chaotic. Where was the chaos? When
9 you talked about chaos did you mean anything more than
10 busyness, and if so what?
11 MISS ARTHURWORREY: When I mentioned the chaos I was
12 referring to the busyness, the busy nature of the Duty
13 Team.
14 MR GARNHAM: You have told us you began your work at
15 Haringey in November 1998.
16 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
17 MR GARNHAM: By the time you arrived at Haringey, is it fair
18 to say that you had picked up quite a lot of experience
19 in child protection work?
20 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I think I had picked up quite a lot of
21 experience.
22 MR GARNHAM: You had done some of that sort of work during
23 your placements at Luton?
24 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
25 MR GARNHAM: And you had done child protection work at
19
1 Hammersmith and Fulham?
2 MISS ARTHURWORREY: At Hammersmith and Fulham they had
3 a policy whereby newly qualified social workers did not
4 take lead responsibility for child protection
5 investigations until they had completed a 10 week
6 training course. Unfortunately I did not complete that
7 training course because it was arranged prior to me
8 leaving -- after I left.
9 MR GARNHAM: Over the page of the volume you have open to
10 page 41, which is further into the reference, and we can
11 see it is a reference by Shirley Walker.
12 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct.
13 MR GARNHAM: Under the heading "Other Comments", Miss Walker
14 writes:
15 "As a qualified social worker Lisa has demonstrated
16 her ability to work with children and families in
17 a number of situations with a range of needs. She has
18 carried a case load which consisted of court
19 proceedings, looked after children and child protection
20 cases where children at risk are in need of monitoring."
21 I read that to suggest that you had some experience
22 yourself of child protection work. Is that not right?
23 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct. What happened at
24 Hammersmith and Fulham is that although newly qualified
25 social workers did not take lead responsibility, I do
20
1 remember on one of my cases in particular child
2 protection issues arose after the case was allocated to
3 me and when that happened I was given close supervision
4 by my manager as to deal with the child protection
5 aspects of the case.
6 MR GARNHAM: Up to this time you had attended a goodly
7 number of courses relating to child protection, had you
8 not?
9 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
10 MR GARNHAM: Can we look at that list of courses please,
11 same volume, page 22. The first four I think are
12 courses you underwent at Hammersmith and Fulham and they
13 include dealing with suspicions of child abuse, before,
14 during and after case conference and risk assessment in
15 child protection. Is that right?
16 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
17 MR GARNHAM: And the last of those, the risk assessment
18 course, was a four-day course?
19 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I have had a chance to think about that
20 course and I now believe that that course was actually
21 a two-day course.
22 MR GARNHAM: Very well. Then during the early months of
23 your work at Haringey you did a case recording workshop
24 for children and a three-day course in comprehensive
25 assessment in child protection.
21
1 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
2 MR GARNHAM: And working together in child protection, all
3 before the period with which we are concerned?
4 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
5 MR GARNHAM: During any of these courses were you ever
6 taught the concept of respectful uncertainty? Does that
7 ring any bells with you?
8 MISS ARTHURWORREY: It does not ring any bells, no.
9 MR GARNHAM: Were you taught the idea that when you were
10 dealing with cases, although you should be polite and
11 respectful of the views that were being put to you, you
12 should also retain a degree of uncertainty and
13 questioning when you considered those views and that is
14 where the expression "respectful uncertainty" comes
15 from?
16 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I do not specifically remember that, no.
17 MR GARNHAM: You were assigned to a Duty Investigation and
18 Assessment Team based at the North Tottenham District
19 Office.
20 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
21 MR GARNHAM: And your duties and responsibilities are set
22 out in the job descriptions and specifications which we
23 have in the bundle, and which I will take you to in
24 a moment, and expanded on in your statement.
25 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is right, yes.
22
1 MR GARNHAM: Let us have a look at those documents,
2 volume 14 page 94. I have the wrong reference there.
3 I will come back to that. I cannot find it immediately,
4 I will come back to that.
5 You tell us that at North Tottenham District Office
6 there were two teams, an A Team and a B Team; is that
7 right?
8 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is right.
9 MR GARNHAM: You were part of the B Team?
10 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is right.
11 MR GARNHAM: Your line manager between 30th July and
12 5th November was somebody called Carole Baptiste?
13 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is right, yes.
14 MR GARNHAM: A senior practitioner in that team was
15 Barry Almedia?
16 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Yes.
17 MR GARNHAM: At the same time the A Team was managed by
18 Angella Mairs?
19 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is right, yes.
20 MR GARNHAM: And the senior practitioner in that team was
21 Rose Kozinos?
22 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Rose Kozinos.
23 MR GARNHAM: That was the structure that was in place
24 until November 1999?
25 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
23
1 MR GARNHAM: When the two teams were merged to create
2 a single Duty Investigation and Assessment Team -- is
3 that right?
4 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is right.
5 MR GARNHAM: -- Angella Mairs then became your line manager
6 from 8th November to 14th December?
7 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
8 MR GARNHAM: Rose Kozinos was your supervisor between
9 14th December and 25th February?
10 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is right.
11 MR GARNHAM: And the picture we are left with is there was
12 a certain amount of change going on here in your line
13 management.
14 MISS ARTHURWORREY: There was, yes.
15 MR GARNHAM: Were those changes a consequence of the
16 restructuring exercise which you tell us about in
17 paragraphs 42 and 43 of your statement or did this
18 happen for some other reason?
19 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I believe those changes were as
20 a consequence of the restructuring process.
21 MR GARNHAM: Apart from the changes in your management, did
22 that restructuring have any other impact on you, on your
23 work?
24 MISS ARTHURWORREY: The restructuring created a sense of
25 uncertainty and I know that my morale was very low at
24
1 that time. However, I believed -- I tried my best to
2 concentrate on the work that I had to do and that was my
3 priority, to work on my cases, to progress my cases.
4 MR GARNHAM: You talk about managers competing for their own
5 job.
6 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
7 MR GARNHAM: Did that have any effect on you?
8 MISS ARTHURWORREY: It was disconcerting having managers
9 competing with each other.
10 MR GARNHAM: Why?
11 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Managers had to prepare a presentation
12 for their interviews and this preparation took place
13 during work hours.
14 MR GARNHAM: So that meant they were doing that preparation
15 and doing those interviews at a time when otherwise they
16 would have been available to you?
17 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
18 MR GARNHAM: How would you describe the atmosphere in the
19 office while this restructuring process was going on?
20 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Chaotic, busy and very unsettling.
21 MR GARNHAM: Chaotic in the same sense as you have described
22 the Duty Team at Hammersmith and Fulham?
23 MISS ARTHURWORREY: No, it was a different sense of chaos.
24 MR GARNHAM: Describe it.
25 MISS ARTHURWORREY: There appeared to be no managers
25
1 available -- it was management availability that was the
2 problem.
3 MR GARNHAM: I will ask you some more about that when we
4 come to look at events during those months when you were
5 concerned with Victoria's case. Let me first just ask
6 you this. Was the staff steady? Were there always the
7 same staff involved or were you seeing different faces
8 in the office?
9 MISS ARTHURWORREY: We were seeing different faces in the
10 office, although I would like to point out that the Duty
11 Investigation and Assessment Teams always had problems
12 recruiting staff and I think that the restructuring just
13 made that problem even worse.
14 MR GARNHAM: You tell us that your first manager during this
15 period, Carole Baptiste, only worked two and a half days
16 a week. She was on a job share, was she?
17 MISS ARTHURWORREY: She only worked two and a half days
18 a week but there was nobody in place for the other two
19 and a half days a week.
20 MR GARNHAM: So what happened for the other two and a half
21 days? Was she at the front end?
22 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Corral Baptiste was at the front end of
23 the week.
24 MR GARNHAM: What happened at the other end?
25 MISS ARTHURWORREY: There was nothing in place at all.
26
1 MR GARNHAM: Who took on the job of supervising you?
2 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Nobody.
3 MR GARNHAM: Who would you refer to if you wanted advice or
4 assistance during the latter half of the week?
5 MISS ARTHURWORREY: My first step would be to approach my
6 senior practitioner Barry Almedia. If he was unable to
7 resolve the difficulties that I had then I would then
8 approach Angella Mairs.
9 MR GARNHAM: Could you have volume 29 back, please,
10 page 502. That appears to be, but you tell us, that
11 appears to be the minutes of a meeting held at Haringey
12 on 5th July 1999.
13 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct.
14 MR GARNHAM: It is entitled "Team Meeting: Carole Baptiste"
15 and reading it it is apparent that the subject matter of
16 the meeting was Miss Baptiste, is that right?
17 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is right.
18 MR GARNHAM: If you turn over to page 503, we see talk about
19 Miss Baptiste only working part-time and it appears as
20 if what was in mind was that she should take up
21 a full-time job. First of all, is that a correct
22 understanding of that meeting?
23 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is a correct understanding of that
24 meeting.
25 MR GARNHAM: Did Miss Baptiste in fact return to work
27
1 full-time-time?
2 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Miss Baptiste returned to work
3 full-time-time in July 1999.
4 MR GARNHAM: Did she remain working full-time-time
5 thereafter?
6 MISS ARTHURWORREY: She did.
7 MR GARNHAM: So the problems you describe about not having
8 a manager in the latter half of each week ceased in July
9 1999?
10 MISS ARTHURWORREY: No, it did not.
11 MR GARNHAM: Explain.
12 MISS ARTHURWORREY: From my memory Carole Baptiste's
13 availability from July 1999 became even worse.
14 MR GARNHAM: In what way? Was she in the office?
15 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Some days she was in the office, most
16 days she was not.
17 MR GARNHAM: Was she supposed then to be working
18 full-time-time?
19 MISS ARTHURWORREY: She was supposed to have been working
20 full-time-time, yes.
21 MR GARNHAM: But there were days, as you describe, when she
22 was not there?
23 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
24 MR GARNHAM: Sickness, training courses, holidays, what were
25 the reasons for the delays as you understood it?
28
1 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That was the problem, we did not know
2 where Carole Baptiste was because she did not record her
3 movements in the movements book.
4 MR GARNHAM: Was this a problem that you raised or you and
5 your colleagues raised in the same way as you did the
6 matters talked about in the meeting we have looked at?
7 MISS ARTHURWORREY: This was an issue that was discussed in
8 that meeting, yes.
9 MR GARNHAM: I had understood you to say that it was
10 intended in that meeting that she should return
11 full-time and that she did return full-time but you are
12 now saying, as I understand it, that that full-time did
13 not stop her being away for days, is that right?
14 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is right, yes.
15 MR GARNHAM: Subsequent to the meeting we have looked at was
16 that problem discussed again with your managers?
17 MISS ARTHURWORREY: No, it was not.
18 MR GARNHAM: Were they aware of Miss Baptiste's irregular
19 attendance? Were those superior to her aware of that?
20 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I believed they were.
21 MR GARNHAM: Because?
22 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I know that Angella Mairs was certainly
23 aware because Angella Mairs would make a point of
24 telling social workers that they had to fill out the
25 movements book. That was an important issue for
29
1 Angella Mairs.
2 MR GARNHAM: Thank you. Can I now take you back to the
3 document I could not find a moment ago, to your job
4 description. Volume 16, please, page 94. Do you have
5 there the job description for the Children and Families
6 Team, Investigation Assessment Team Social Worker?
7 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I do.
8 MR GARNHAM: That was your job?
9 MISS ARTHURWORREY: It was, yes.
10 MR GARNHAM: Main duties and responsibilities are set out at
11 the foot of that page and on to the next page. Can
12 I suggest to you, and you tell me if I am wrong, that
13 items numbered (1), (2), (3) and (4) are perhaps the
14 most important for us.
15 (1) is to investigate the need for client services
16 to be accommodated under relevant legislation. (2) to
17 offer a casework service to families with children in
18 need and their vulnerable adults or children appearing
19 before a court. (3) to provide support and counselling
20 link to children, clients and carers and ensure an
21 effective response to all social services referrals, and
22 (4) is to investigate cases of alleged neglect "of
23 ill-treatment" it says. I think it means "or
24 ill-treatment" of clients, service users, and to make
25 enquiries for appropriate recommendations.
30
1 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Yes.
2 MR GARNHAM: Do you agree with me that those are for our
3 purposes amongst the most important of your duties?
4 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Yes, I do agree with you.
5 MR GARNHAM: It is fair to say, is it not, whatever those
6 documents, however those documents are drafted, that in
7 essence your overwhelming obligation as a child social
8 care worker is to safeguard and promote the welfare of
9 children?
10 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
11 MR GARNHAM: And in this case your client was Victoria?
12 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is right, yes.
13 MR GARNHAM: Would you also agree with me that your position
14 as the allocated social worker in this case meant that
15 you were in overall charge of the coordination of the
16 case?
17 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is right, yes.
18 MR GARNHAM: You tell us in paragraph 30 of your statement
19 that you were given no induction when you began work at
20 Haringey, is that right?
21 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
22 MR GARNHAM: So what happened on your first day at work when
23 you turned up? What did they do with you?
24 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I remember on my first day of work
25 I entered the North Tottenham District Office. I was
31
1 given a tour of the building and introduced to other
2 social workers in that building. I remember on my desk
3 there had been two cases waiting for me. I also
4 remember there being a copy of the Duty Investigation
5 and Assessment Procedure as well as a copy of a resource
6 booklet.
7 MR GARNHAM: So apart from being walked around the office
8 and introduced to people were you given any talk or any
9 explanation of how you might start the two cases that
10 were on your desk?
11 MISS ARTHURWORREY: No, I was not.
12 MR GARNHAM: Did you ask?
13 MISS ARTHURWORREY: My first week at Haringey they had
14 arranged for me to shadow the Duty Team.
15 MR GARNHAM: I see. So during the first week you were not
16 doing those two cases, you were shadowing other people?
17 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
18 MR GARNHAM: What happened to the two cases on your desk
19 during that week?
20 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I remember they stayed there until I had
21 a discussion with Carole Baptiste, probably my first
22 supervision session with Carole Baptiste.
23 MR GARNHAM: The shadowing week would have amounted, would
24 it not, to your being inducted in the ways and means of
25 Haringey's team?
32
1 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I think that was the objective but it
2 did not quite work out like that.
3 MR GARNHAM: I am not sure that I understand what it is you
4 are lacking if you have had that shadowing period. Tell
5 us, if you will, what you think you needed in addition.
6 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I needed a full induction on how the
7 Duty system worked. I needed to be familiar with
8 Haringey's procedures. I needed to be familiar with the
9 forms that were used on the Duty system.
10 MR GARNHAM: Were you not able to pick that up during your
11 shadowing week?
12 MISS ARTHURWORREY: What actually happened on my shadow week
13 was that the social worker went off sick, I believe it
14 was the Wednesday of that week.
15 MR GARNHAM: You having started on the Monday?
16 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I started on the Monday and then I was
17 left to take over the rest of her Duty commitments for
18 that week.
19 MR GARNHAM: So that shadowing in fact only lasted for two
20 days?
21 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
22 MR GARNHAM: You say you were given Haringey's Purple Book.
23 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I was when I asked Carole Baptiste for
24 it, yes.
25 MR GARNHAM: Was that during that first week?
33
1 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That was during that first week.
2 MR GARNHAM: And that Purple Book is the Child Protection
3 Guidelines, is it?
4 MISS ARTHURWORREY: It was the Child Protection Guidelines.
5 MR GARNHAM: And you tell us you read those?
6 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I did read those.
7 MR GARNHAM: During that first week?
8 MISS ARTHURWORREY: During that first week.
9 MR GARNHAM: The copy of the book we have is not purple but
10 can I ask you to see if you can recognise it please,
11 volume 24, page 1. Is that it?
12 MISS ARTHURWORREY: It looks familiar, yes.
13 MR GARNHAM: This is the Purple Book, is it?
14 MISS ARTHURWORREY: It is.
15 MR GARNHAM: You kept a copy of that handbook in your drawer
16 you say in paragraph 67, so you kept hold of the
17 Carole Baptiste copy, did you?
18 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct.
19 MR GARNHAM: Did she not want it back or were there plenty
20 in the office?
21 MISS ARTHURWORREY: There were not plenty in the office and
22 she did not ask for it back.
23 MR GARNHAM: Was this the sort of handbook you would
24 routinely be referring to every day? Was it a sort of
25 manual that you would go to on a daily basis?
34
1 MISS ARTHURWORREY: No, it was not.
2 MR GARNHAM: So it sits in your drawer. How often do you
3 have occasion to look at it?
4 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I did not look at it throughout my time
5 at Haringey. The only time I did look at it was during
6 that first week when I read it through.
7 MR GARNHAM: Did your managers or supervisors ever say,
8 "Well, you have asked me this question about this case
9 but if you look at chapter 6 in the Haringey procedures
10 you will see the answer"?
11 MISS ARTHURWORREY: No, they did not.
12 MR GARNHAM: Were you ever referred back to this Purple Book
13 by your managers?
14 MISS ARTHURWORREY: No, I was not.
15 MR GARNHAM: So it just sits in your drawer?
16 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I am afraid so, yes.
17 MR GARNHAM: Had you ever seen the Haringey Social Services
18 operation manual? Does that ring a bell?
19 MISS ARTHURWORREY: The first time I saw the operations
20 manual was when that manual was disclosed to this
21 Inquiry. I had never previously seen a copy of that
22 manual.
23 MR GARNHAM: Did you ever use the Haringey's ACPC manual?
24 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I had never seen, heard or been referred
25 to the Haringey's ACPC manual until it was disclosed to
35
1 this Inquiry.
2 MR GARNHAM: We have it in that same volume at page 374.
3 Look at it if you will. 374. It is dated June 1997.
4 There is nothing as far as we are aware to suggest it
5 was not still the correct edition in June 1997 but you
6 say you had never seen this?
7 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I had never seen this document before.
8 MR GARNHAM: You tell us that there were two cases on your
9 desk when you arrived and you have told us about the two
10 days of shadowing that you did. How did that
11 introduction to the work of Haringey Social Services
12 compare with what you had had at Hammersmith and Fulham?
13 MISS ARTHURWORREY: It did not compare really. At
14 Hammersmith and Fulham I was given a two-week timetable
15 which had been prepared before I started. The timetable
16 had contacts which social workers had to visit, for
17 example we had to make a visit to the Legal Department
18 to get an understanding of how that department worked.
19 We met with the Police Child Protection Team and we were
20 familiarised with their procedures. I remember visiting
21 a Family Centre. It was just basically all the
22 resources that we were expected to use whilst
23 practising.
24 MR GARNHAM: Did you do any of those things in your first
25 week with Haringey?
36
1 MISS ARTHURWORREY: When I arrived at Haringey I did raise
2 my concern with Carole Baptiste about being put in an
3 environment and expected to handle cases when I was not
4 aware of the resources that I needed to assist me with
5 my work.
6 MR GARNHAM: There was a bit of a difference, was there not,
7 because with Hammersmith and Fulham you were fresh from
8 college whereas you came to Haringey as a social worker
9 who had some years of experience under her belt, so
10 would you not have expected a rather less fulsome
11 introduction and induction in Haringey?
12 MISS ARTHURWORREY: No, it was my belief that we should have
13 had an induction like the one I had at Hammersmith and
14 Fulham.
15 MR GARNHAM: You tell us in your statement that the
16 supervision and direction you received from your
17 managers at Haringey was of a lower standard than you
18 had had at Hammersmith and Fulham.
19 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
20 MR GARNHAM: In what ways was it of a lower standard?
21 Frequency? Was it as frequent?
22 MISS ARTHURWORREY: The supervision at Haringey was not as
23 frequent as the supervision at Hammersmith and Fulham.
24 MR GARNHAM: Can you give us a picture of the sort of
25 differences?
37
1 MISS ARTHURWORREY: In Hammersmith and Fulham my manager was
2 committed to regular supervision.
3 MR GARNHAM: How frequent?
4 MISS ARTHURWORREY: And I would be supervised about once
5 every month.
6 MR GARNHAM: And at Haringey?
7 MISS ARTHURWORREY: At Haringey I was supervised about once
8 every seven weeks.
9 MR GARNHAM: What about the depth of the supervision, any
10 difference?
11 MISS ARTHURWORREY: There was a difference in the depth of
12 the supervision. In Hammersmith and Fulham I was always
13 able to have a full discussion with my manager about the
14 cases that I was working on before I intervened. That
15 was not the case at Haringey.
16 MR GARNHAM: You have described how, paragraph 33, at
17 Hammersmith and Fulham your manager would come with you
18 to meetings and home visits and attend case conferences
19 with you. Did that happen at Haringey?
20 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Not very often, no.
21 MR GARNHAM: Was it always the case at Hammersmith and
22 Fulham?
23 MISS ARTHURWORREY: It was always the case in Hammersmith
24 and Fulham.
25 MR GARNHAM: But again might that not be a function of the
38
1 fact that you were seen as a rather more experienced
2 social worker in Haringey than you had been at
3 Hammersmith and Fulham? Do you see what I mean, that
4 when you start off in what was effectively your first
5 job it is only right that you should have your hand held
6 a bit, but there comes a time, and it might be said that
7 time had come by the time you reached Haringey, when
8 they had to let go of your hand and let you walk alone.
9 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I understand that point. The point that
10 I would like to make is that -- I can give an example of
11 management unavailability. When I had to prepare my
12 first case conference at Haringey in October 99 my
13 manager did not attend that case conference. She was
14 unable to attend and she asked me to find somebody to
15 deputise for her in her absence.
16 MR GARNHAM: And did you?
17 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I did, yes.
18 MR GARNHAM: So somebody else attended instead?
19 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct.
20 MR GARNHAM: So were you in any worse position than you
21 would have been?
22 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Yes, I was.
23 MR GARNHAM: Why?
24 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Because the person who deputised was
25 Barry Almedia, the senior practitioner, who had no
39
1 knowledge of this case that I was working on and I had
2 to give him a quick update before the case conference
3 and I just felt unsupported during that case conference
4 given that it was my first case conference at Haringey.
5 MR GARNHAM: You say in paragraph 34 that you were short of
6 books, textbooks in Haringey. Was that a noticeable
7 difference?
8 MISS ARTHURWORREY: There was no library of social work
9 books in Haringey. I had my own personal copies of
10 books which I had obtained as a student and I carried
11 with me to Hammersmith and Fulham and then carried with
12 me to Haringey.
13 MR GARNHAM: You describe on one occasion getting some
14 guidance faxed across from Hammersmith and Fulham.
15 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
16 MR GARNHAM: Why was that necessary?
17 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That was necessary because I had been
18 allocated a Section 7 report. That was the first time
19 that I had undertaken a report of that nature.
20 I remember approaching Angella Mairs for advice on how
21 to complete that report and I was just given a standard
22 legal statement which I believe came from the Legal
23 Department. That statement just set out the
24 presentation of court reports. It did not assist me in
25 addressing the particular issues that I needed to
40
1 address in a Section 7 report.
2 MR GARNHAM: Whatever it was you had faxed across from
3 Hammersmith and Fulham was more useful, was it?
4 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Absolutely, yes.
5 MR GARNHAM: You talked about the difficulties you had in
6 preparing for case conferences and you mentioned that
7 also in paragraph 35 of your statement, but was this not
8 covered in your training?
9 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I remember on my training, particularly
10 during my voluntary placement which I had to undertake
11 as part of my course, shadowing social workers who were
12 convening case conferences.
13 MR GARNHAM: Was that at Luton?
14 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That was at Luton, yes.
15 MR GARNHAM: So you remember then. What were you going to
16 tell us about preparing for case conferences?
17 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I also remember the first case
18 conference that I prepared at Hammersmith and Fulham.
19 I was given close guidance by my manager. We worked
20 together to prepare the report.
21 MR GARNHAM: I wonder then what else it is you needed, given
22 that you had had those experiences.
23 MISS ARTHURWORREY: When I had to prepare my first case
24 conference at Haringey I needed guidance on how the
25 report should be presented. I had my copy of my case
41
1 conference report that I had prepared at Hammersmith and
2 Fulham but I just needed to know how Haringey expected
3 their case conference reports to be presented.
4 MR GARNHAM: Because it is the case, is it not, that in the
5 reference that I have already taken you to from
6 Hammersmith and Fulham -- and I do not need you to look
7 it up, I will read you the sentence -- you are commended
8 on your ability to communicate in these sort of reports?
9 It says -- sir, this is 29, page 40:
10 "During her period with this Authority she has had
11 to prepare a range of reports including those for child
12 protection case conferences, panels and court statements
13 for Schedule 2 applications. Although inexperienced in
14 compiling such reports, Lisa is making good progress to
15 help further her skills in this area. She has good
16 communication skills."
17 It sounds as though you had certainly got the hang
18 of Hammersmith and Fulham's case conferences.
19 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
20 MR GARNHAM: Is the difference between that borough and the
21 new one simply a matter of style?
22 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I think it is a matter of style and it
23 is also a matter of procedure because I do remember when
24 I had to convene my first case conference I did not know
25 how to do that and there was a clear procedure in
42
1 Haringey with regards to convening case conferences.
2 MR GARNHAM: It is the same point I put to you with regard
3 to other areas. Now you have got through some years of
4 work, is it not the case that you do not need that same
5 sort of close direction from your managers in areas like
6 preparing for case conferences that you might have
7 needed in your first job?
8 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I think it is important to note that
9 when I joined Haringey I had only been practising as
10 a social worker for 10 months. I had only prepared one
11 case conference report. I know that case conference
12 reports are very crucial and the information and the
13 presentation is very important. So I had expected to
14 get close guidelines on preparing case conference
15 reports.
16 MR GARNHAM: Thank you. You describe the overall effect of
17 all these difficulties you say you experienced at
18 Haringey in paragraph 37 of your statement, and 36. But
19 you say that other members of the team were dismissive
20 of your complaints. Does that mean that others did not
21 agree with you when you raised these matters?
22 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I think the problem in Duty
23 Investigation and Assessment B Team was most of the
24 social workers were very experienced. They had 15 plus
25 years' experience practising social work. I only had
43
1 10 months and those practitioners were able to manage
2 more so on their own than I was.
3 MR GARNHAM: I would have thought that would have been an
4 advantage. It would have meant that there are all these
5 experienced people around you you can ask if you get
6 stuck.
7 MISS ARTHURWORREY: And I did do that, yes.
8 MR GARNHAM: What response did you get?
9 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Most of the time they were helpful.
10 MR GARNHAM: So where is the problem? Where is the
11 dismissiveness that you talk about?
12 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I would talk about the content of my
13 particular supervision sessions. I was not satisfied
14 with the content of my supervision sessions.
15 MR GARNHAM: I see. You say in that same two paragraphs
16 that you did not want to get caught up in office
17 politics. What was the office politics?
18 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is a very difficult question to
19 answer. What I can say is that there always appeared to
20 be conflict in the Duty Investigation and Assessment
21 Team.
22 MR GARNHAM: I fear it may not be the only difficult
23 question I have to ask you Miss Arthurworrey so I wonder
24 if you could give us a little more detail. What were
25 the office politics? What was the problem? We need to
44
1 know please.
2 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I will explain it like this. Basically,
3 the Duty Investigation and Assessment Team reminded me
4 of a school. Angella Mairs was the headmistress,
5 Rose Kozinos was the head girl. There were also other
6 head girls and we the social workers were the children.
7 MR GARNHAM: That gives a description of a rather more
8 matriarchal structure than one might expect in a modern
9 social services office but, where is the politics in
10 that, where is the office politics you were trying to
11 keep out of?
12 MISS ARTHURWORREY: There just always seemed to be conflict,
13 arguments between --
14 MR GARNHAM: Was there a division of the team into camps?
15 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Yes, there was a clear division.
16 MR GARNHAM: What was the basis of the split?
17 MISS ARTHURWORREY: The basis of the split was the
18 headmistress and the head girls against the social
19 workers.
20 MR GARNHAM: I see. It is a split along lines of seniority,
21 is it?
22 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
23 MR GARNHAM: Was there any sense of rebellion amongst the
24 schoolgirls?
25 MISS ARTHURWORREY: It was very difficult to rebel amongst
45
1 the schoolgirls because we were regarded as children who
2 should be seen and not heard.
3 MR GARNHAM: How do you then manage to keep out of those
4 politics? It sounds like that is a description of
5 a state of affairs that you are in and you are stuck
6 with.
7 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Basically I enjoyed the work that I was
8 doing and my focus was just to get on with my work to
9 the best of my ability and I just tried to get on with
10 everybody.
11 MR GARNHAM: But you still felt like a schoolgirl?
12 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Absolutely.
13 MR GARNHAM: Can I ask you a little about your position in
14 Haringey immediately prior to your being allocated
15 Victoria's case, please? You had by then 18 months'
16 post-qualification experience?
17 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
18 MR GARNHAM: You say you had never done a case conference in
19 Haringey and only one in Hammersmith and Fulham?
20 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct. That is correct, yes.
21 MR GARNHAM: You said you had never conducted a joint
22 Section 47 investigation?
23 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
24 MR GARNHAM: You had never conducted a full Orange Book
25 Section 47 investigation on your own?
46
1 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
2 MR GARNHAM: You had never undertaking a Section 47
3 investigation when a child was in hospital?
4 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
5 MR GARNHAM: You say you had not dealt with doctors
6 professionally?
7 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Apart from arranging medicals.
8 MR GARNHAM: And you were not memorandum trained?
9 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
10 MR GARNHAM: It does seem a little odd, that. One might
11 have thought that that sort of thing is the stuff and
12 substance of life as a children's social worker and yet
13 you seem to have got through eight months in Haringey
14 without doing any of it. How so?
15 MISS ARTHURWORREY: In Haringey I carried a varied case load
16 which included children in need. I carried Section 47
17 investigations whilst I was on Duty, whilst it was my
18 Duty week. Those investigations were always completed
19 with another social work colleague and it was just about
20 the initial assessment. If there appeared to be ongoing
21 work after the initial assessment, those cases would be
22 allocated.
23 MR GARNHAM: You say at one stage in your evidence that you
24 did not feel you were having enough support and there
25 was not enough assistance. Now you seem to be saying
47
1 that you were not being allowed to get on on your own.
2 Have I misunderstood?
3 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Could I have the question explained to
4 me?
5 MR GARNHAM: You have said one thing you noticed about
6 Haringey was a lack of supervision and a lack of
7 management involvement. Yes?
8 MISS ARTHURWORREY: Yes.
9 MR GARNHAM: You are now saying that in relation to the sort
10 of stuff and substance work that children's social
11 workers might be expected to carry out you were only
12 doing it under supervision with somebody else.
13 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I think I felt properly supported during
14 my Duty week. There was a clear procedure, social
15 workers knew what they had to do on Duty and we were
16 managed, we had a Duty Senior who was overseeing all of
17 the work that was being taken out on the Duty Team and
18 that senior practitioner would be reporting back to the
19 overall Duty Manager, which was either Angella Mairs or
20 Carole Baptiste.
21 MR GARNHAM: So the management was okay when you were on
22 Duty but not when you were doing longer term work?
23 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
24 MR GARNHAM: Can I make sure that I have understood the
25 difference correctly? The whole of your team did two
48
1 types of work, is that right?
2 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is right.
3 MR GARNHAM: Either on Duty work, which you would do for
4 a week?
5 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is right.
6 MR GARNHAM: When you would deal with first referrals,
7 telephone calls and other types of referrals that were
8 coming into the office?
9 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
10 MR GARNHAM: And you would do the initial work that was
11 necessary on those cases?
12 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
13 MR GARNHAM: And then the second type of work you would do
14 would be more long-term work when you were investigating
15 cases that had already come in and been dealt with by
16 Duty?
17 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
18 MR GARNHAM: And you do one week on Duty, how many weeks at
19 work but not on Duty?
20 MISS ARTHURWORREY: It was one week out of four.
21 MR GARNHAM: Thank you. Would you go to volume 29 and
22 page 23. This is a document that seeks to set out the
23 results of a monitoring exercise that was carried out in
24 Haringey looking at case loads. Have you seen it
25 before?
49
1 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I have seen it before, I completed it.
2 MR GARNHAM: Many of the lines are blanked out because they
3 refer to other cases which do not concern us but we see
4 that one of those cases was Victoria.
5 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
6 MR GARNHAM: The redaction has gone so far as to eliminate
7 the type of case I think, which would otherwise be
8 listed under "Ward" for some reason.
9 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct, yes.
10 MR GARNHAM: But we have a summary of the effect of that on
11 the right-hand side and it says: "Nine CP, eight FS,
12 one CA." Do I take that to mean nine child protection,
13 eight family support and one ...?
14 MISS ARTHURWORREY: It is actually LA, "looked after".
15 MR GARNHAM: That is for August 1999 and it looks as if
16 about half of your cases for that month were child
17 protection cases.
18 MISS ARTHURWORREY: That is correct.
19 MR GARNHAM: Was that typical?
20 MISS ARTHURWORREY: When I started at Haringey my case load
21 to begin with was manageable but it slowly increased so
22 that by the end of August that was my busiest period and
23 I was responsible for 19 cases.
24 MR GARNHAM: That was a poorly phrased question. Was the
25 split, nine child protection cases out of 18, about
50
1 50 per cent, was that typical?
2 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I believe there was actual procedure for
3 the number of cases that social workers used to have.
4 I cannot actually remember.
5 MR GARNHAM: Again that is not my question. Was it right
6 that say during 1999 about half of your cases would be
7 child protection cases?
8 MISS ARTHURWORREY: No, that was not right.
9 MR GARNHAM: So August was not typical in that regard?
10 MISS ARTHURWORREY: No, it was not.
11 MR GARNHAM: Can you give us a feel of what might be typical
12 during that year, what proportion of your cases would be
13 child protection?
14 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I really cannot remember.
15 MR GARNHAM: But a significant proportion?
16 MISS ARTHURWORREY: There was a policy that we had to have
17 12 cases in total.
18 MR GARNHAM: Yes, again I am not asking about totals, I want
19 to know how much child protection work you were doing.
20 This month makes it look as if it is about half of your
21 work that was child protection. If that is not typical,
22 then I want a feel of what would have been more typical.
23 MISS ARTHURWORREY: I believe that was typical.
24 MR GARNHAM: So about half of your work was child
25 protection?
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