SCOTLAND
Herald Scotland
Stephen Naysmith, Social affairs correspondent / Thursday 7 January 2016
Adult victims who were abused in care in childhood are threatening to walk away from an inquiry set up by the Scottish Government.
One of Scotland’s leading campaign groups made up of people who suffered abuse in children’s homes or residential care accused the minister responsible, Angela Constance, of reneging on a pledge to meet with them and a commitment too remain personally involved in helping them achieve justice.
Scottish Labour accused the education and lifelong learning secretary of jeopardising the future of the independent inquiry into the historic abuse of children in care which she herself set up in December 2014.
Alan Draper, parliamentary liaison officer for In Care Abuse Survivors (Incas) said members were ready to withdraw from the public inquiry after Ms Constance rejected several appeals to meet. The group wants her to honour promises they say she made last year, including commitments to seek solutions to the time bar which makes it impossible to bring civil cases over many historic cases, and address a separate legal block to pursuing civic cases over any child abuse suffered before 1964. They also want clarity about what legal and financial support will be available for abuse survivors.
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