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Invitation for Submissions and Notification of Seminars

My letter of 25 October invited comments on the structure and content of the provisional framework and suggestions for topics to be considered in Phase Two of the Inquiry. A total of 55 responses was received from a range of organisations and individuals and we are very grateful for those contributions.

The Inquiry team has now had the opportunity to consider the responses and has drawn up the attached discussion paper, which includes a number of questions based on those contributions and the evidence heard in Phase One. I am now writing to notify you of the seminars and invite submissions which will inform discussion in the seminars.

Submissions for Phase Two

As before, it would be very helpful if your submissions could follow the format of the questions set out in the paper. You should aim to make your submissions as concise as possible. Any submission received will be treated as evidence to the Inquiry and as such will be publicly available. Your submission may be published on the Inquiry's website and it would help us if you were also able to provide your submission on a floppy disk, if possible. Deadlines by which the Inquiry should receive submissions are given in the attached table. They can be posted to the address at the bottom of this page or emailed to victoria-climbie-inquiry@vci.gsi.gov.uk.

Some of you have already provided submissions on the issues that you would like the Inquiry to cover, and it may be that there is nothing else you wish to add. Unless we hear from you, your original submission will be accepted as the final version.

Phase Two seminars

Lord Laming has decided not to hold a preliminary meeting for Phase Two and there will be no 'Interested Parties'. We are planning to hold five seminars to discuss the questions in the attached paper. These seminars will be open to the public. The focus of the seminars will be on the needs of children and their carers and how the safeguards for the proper protection of children can be strengthened. They will be chaired by Neil Garnham QC, Counsel to the Inquiry and will be held in Hannibal House on the dates in the attached table. Between 12 and 20 people will be invited to each seminar and we will seek to ensure that there is appropriate representation of interest and expertise. We expect invitations to be issued shortly Members of the public will be able to suggest questions in writing, in advance, but it will be at Mr Garnham's discretion whether these are fed into the work of the seminar. Each seminar will run from 10.00am until 4.00pm.

Yours sincerely,

Mandy Jacklin
Secretary to the Inquiry

Seminar topics and deadlines for submissions