The Case For Reforming The Law On Child Neglect

Neglect can have some of the worst and most long-term effects on a child's brain, physical development, behaviour, educational achievement and emotional wellbeing and Action for Children is calling for this to be recognised in law. The criminal law on neglect was passed in 1933 and Action for Children warns that it is out of date because it doesn’t cover all forms of neglect, particularly emotional neglect. The charity argues that in order to meet its purpose of prevention of neglect, the criminal offence and its associated sentencing guidelines should be updated to reflect the true nature of neglect, and should be re-written to enable early intervention and support for families. It is therefore calling on the government to commit to a review of the law on neglect during this Parliament.

The full report is available here: http://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/media/3788628/action_for_children_keeping_children_safe_the_case_for_reforming_the_law_on_child_neglect.pdf