Re: Barnardos and my search

Hello John

At the moment because  health problems prevent me from doing so, also
because Barnardo's have a moral duty and perhaps a legal obligation to care
in cases such as this.

Indeed, I suspect that has been the main leverage in obtaining the
information that has been forthcoming

That has been tried more than once, by me and by others, I even use quite
expensive lawyers. Barnardo's now have to comply with the most recent
legislation and can not refuse outright to provide all information on file.
It should provide access to parts of the file that concern the individual
seeking access. It should seek consent from others, it should within reason
allow access to parts of the file that hold information about those who are
deceased  see Gunn-Rosso v Nugent Care and the SoS for Health

To a lot of people, they already look like weasels and worse.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0LVZ/is_12_17/ai_90108597

<quote>

Mr Roger Singleton (Barnardo's) to the Health Committee on 1 June 1998, re
Child Migration to Australia and Canada

     "On the insurance matter, we are acting on legal advice. You will be
familiar with the fact that risks are insured. The present position of our
insurers is ultra cautious, to put it mildly, on anything which would
remotely resemble making a public apology, and I do not think we need to
dwell on speculating why that is so. We have taken legal advice on the
position of our insurers and the legal advice to Barnardo's and its trustees
is that we should continue to be cautious although we are continuing to
press our insurers to try and ease their attitude where it is absolutely
clear that by the standards of the time a particular migrant had a rough and
difficult time. We want actually to be able to formally say sorry on behalf
of the organisation. The only resources that the organisation would have to
be able to meet, for example, any compensation claims which flow from that
would be in relation to money donated for today's work and that does mean
that the trustees have to take very careful account of the legal advice they
receive."

<end quote>

No other child care organisation's insurers were so insistent or taken quite
such heed of, my opinion is that Singleton and his colleagues were more
concerned about the effect of bad publicity, but insurance seemed like a
damn good excuse.

Barnardo's seem quite happy to spend large amounts of their beneficiaries
contributions on lawyers' fees, rather than to negotiate a compromise over
access to the outstanding part of the file. The attitude here seems to be
that adopted people have very little right to know about their patrilineal
family particularly those of it who were also born outside of marriage.
Barnardo's is in many trapped in the 1950s in its thinking on these issues.

Robin

http://harritt.eu

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Two observations.

1) Then why not research it?

2) Barnardo's will be concerned about negative publicity.  If they have
information that you want and need, they will not be happy about your
publicizing the fact that they are not providing it to you.

The first step in setting them up for such publicity is to pin them down.

You want to write a letter to them that a) references their proclaimed
policy of assisting everyone adopted through their agency and b) makes
reasonable requests in reliance on that policy as one so adopted.  This
letter should be wholly unprejudicial and dispassionate, but it should
convey the importance of the requested information to you.  The letter
should communicate the facts clearly and concisely enough that anyone
picking it up can figure out what the situation is.

If they refuse your requests, then they will look like weasels.  And they
will know that. This will cost them heartburn, substantial legal fees, and
just possibly some usable information.

`
I've posted this everywhere, so why not here.
        

I received another weaselly letter from Campbell Hooper, Barnardo's lawyers,
on Thursday
            

They object to my use of the word veracity (as in lack of)
             

Perhaps someone can help me out with another term to use when one social
worker within an organization tells you one thing and then another social
worker from the same organization tell you something completely different?
What's the polite way of questioning that?
             

Well at least I Barnardo's seem to be refusing to comment at all on what I
have said in a letter to its solicitor, re my father's family. Usually if
Barnardo's know nothing on a particular issue there is a swift denial of all
knowledge, I have to take that as affirmative, along with its offer to
cooperate with an Adoption Support Agency of my choice. In making that offer
it implicitly acknowledges that the file that it last year claimed to be
complete, can not possibly be so if it has other information.
            

Why do people who would like to claim that they are 'professionals' have to
play these stupid games? Particularly over things that happened 50 + years
ago
             

Prior to the coming in to force of the Legitimacy Act 1959, Affiliation
proceedings were heard in open court and reported by newspapers, so it is
hardly that Barnardos are protecting some great secret. Particularly given
the speculation that I have already passed on via Campbell Hooper its
solicitors. All they would be doing is saving me some research at Colindale
or the top floor of Romford library, where appropriate newspapers still
exist. And perhaps they could then see that the whole thing is handled with
some care and sensitivity. But in my experience Barnardo's Family
Connections Project  http://www.barnardos.org.uk/familyconnections.htm   is
much more in the business of protecting the Barnardo's corporate backside.
            

As for those already found, apart from my alleged father's family from his
his later marriage and the family of my brother who died, the rest all keep
in touch at least. We tend to see each other at least once a year. The
Germans, I keep in touch with via the internet. So I guess I can't have done
all that much wrong so far.
            

Robin
                    

http://harritt.eu
                

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