Luton Borough Council

07/07/2011 - Council welcomes Serious Case Review recommendations

Luton Borough Council has today welcomed publication of the Serious Case Review Executive Summary into the murder of Adult A (Michael Gilbert).

The report, commissioned by the Luton Safeguarding Adults Board, makes eight recommendations.

These are:

That the study of Adult A’s circumstances features in training in Luton Borough Council’s children and adult services
That the Serious Case Review is shared with partner agencies with a view to creating a forum for training and development
That Luton’s Safeguarding Adults Board promotes training in assessing mental capacity and decision-making, and risk assessment and management
That Luton’s Safeguarding Children’s Board invites the Council to outline how its obligations to prospective and young care leavers are being enacted
That Luton’s Safeguarding Children’s Board invites schools and residential services to report on their preventative work to reduce bullying, their knowledge of its effectiveness, and to ensure that sexual bullying features in all anti-bullying policies
That the Council identifies care leavers who are without supportive and trusting relationships with birth or chosen families who are at risk of becoming homeless and focuses multi-agency attention and resources on them
That the Serious Case Review is shared with the Chief Police Officers of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Lancashire and Norfolk to determine whether or not guidance is required from the Association of Chief Police Officers
That Luton’s Safeguarding Adults Board presents this Serious Case Review to the Law Commission

Trevor Holden, Chief Executive of Luton Borough Council, said: “We welcome publication of today’s Executive Summary, and together with all partner agencies that have responsibility for safeguarding adults in Luton we accept the Serious Case Review recommendations in full.

“This was a tragic and complex case. The captivity and murder of Michael Gilbert were heinous crimes and those responsible are rightly serving prison sentences. We send our deepest sympathies to the surviving family.

“While the report clearly states that professionals made the decisions expected of them in following legislative requirements at the time, the Council and its partners are determined to learn the lessons from this Serious Case Review. We have an action plan in place for each recommendation which will help us improve services to the people of Luton and we hope will also help shape policy on a national level.

“As an adult Michael was not registered as vulnerable because, by law, he was deemed to have had sufficient mental capacity to make his own decisions.

“The support that was offered 20 years ago for Michael in Luton and other children across the country is very different to the services of today. Legislation and statutory guidance has changed significantly in that time.

There is now much closer partnership working and much higher levels of professional intervention throughout the lives of vulnerable children, both in Luton and nationally.”