Nottingham City Council has apologised for any failures and shortcomings which may have led to children being abused in its care.
The apology comes just two weeks before the start of an Independent inquiry into the extent to which councils in Nottinghamshire failed to protect children in their care, from sexual abuse.
Survivor groups say the apology is too little, too late.
Nottingham City Council Chief Executive Ian Curryer has said:
We have apologised in private to individuals, and have always said we would apologise publicly at a time where there was substantive evidence to show this would be appropriate and not a hollow gesture. In preparing for the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, information has come to light that shows instances when the standard of child care fell seriously below what we would now demand and what children in the council’s care should have been able to expect.
It is now clear that on inheriting the responsibility for children’s services from the County Council twenty years ago, there should have been swifter and more robust action taken to address the issues which began to emerge about the way some children’s homes were run and the impact this was having on children. Changes we made to children’s residential care did not have an immediate impact in terms of improved standards.
We now wish to state publicly that we are deeply sorry and offer our heartfelt sympathy to survivors who should never have had to suffer whilst in our care. We apologise unreservedly for any failures and shortcomings which allowed such abuse to take place.
Being in the care of the local authority should provide safety for children and sadly this was not always the case. Abuse of a child is an abhorrent, unforgivable crime which has a devastating effect on the lives of victims. We hope that the independent scrutiny of the Inquiry, and having their voice heard as part of the proceedings, will give survivors a sense of justice.
We will continue to provide any support we can and would encourage anybody aware of or affected by abuse, current or historical, to come forward and speak confidentially to us or the police. We can assure anyone who suffered in the past or is suffering now, that they will be listened to, taken seriously and appropriate action will be taken.
Chief Executive Ian Curryer, Nottingham City Council 