Backlash after county councillor who represents Wisbech ward calls some children in care ‘evil’

A county councillor who represents a ward in Wisbech labelled some children in care as “evil” during a committee meeting.

Cllr Andy Osborn (Reform UK) told a Cambridgeshire County Council meeting on Tuesday that some children in care were “not just naughty children, they can be downright evil”.

Cllr Osborn, who represents the Roman Bank and Peckover ward, told the Children and Young People Committee that he had heard of cases where children were “smashing cars up, running away from home, and are on drugs”.

Cllr Osborn said: “It is not just a case of somebody being a bad boy or a bad girl, it is a case of they have learnt from their bad parents not to react correctly.”

He faced swift pushback from fellow councillors and an executive director over his comments. They highlighted that children who are taken into care have experienced trauma and ‘damaging experiences’.

Martin Purbrick, executive director of children, education and families, said that children in care have needed care and support due to the trauma they have experienced.

He said: “I think it is important to recognise any child in care is a child that has experienced early childhood trauma and it is that trauma, which can often lead to difficult behaviours and emotional responses to challenging situations, which children and young people find difficult to manage themselves.

“Sometimes that can manifest itself in behaviours like you have described, which can be difficult, but I do think it is important that we as a committee also remember that under that behaviour is a child that has experienced something incredibly difficult and something that has really changed the way that they are able to manage their own emotions.

“That is why they behave in that way, often actually putting themselves at significant risk rather than other people.

“We need to make sure what they get is good quality, consistent care, which enables them to become an adult which can contribute to society, learn what they want to do and achieve their ambitions as well.”

Cllr Bryony Goodliffe (Labour) added that they needed to be careful about labelling the children in their care.

She said: “We also have a responsibility for these children, they are our children under the corporate parenting legislation, they are very much our responsibility.

“I think we need to be very careful about labelling children as naughty children, what they are doing is reacting to the situations that they have been in, which are of no control of their own.”

Cllr Anna Bradnam (Liberal Democrat) also said it was important they recognised that children’s behaviour could be challenging, because they had “a very challenging time beforehand”.

She said: “We must try to be there and meet them where their needs are, not to label them.”

The meeting heard that the authority spent more than budgeted last year on care placements.

A report presented to the meeting said children’s external placements overspent by £7.5million.

Mr Purbrick said this was mainly due to more children coming into care than had been expected, but said the area still had some of the lowest numbers of children coming into care compared to other authorities in the east of the country.

He highlighted the work done by the county council to help families and keep children at home when possible.