Social workers told to check pets

Social workers will check the care and provision for family pets.

Social workers are to be asked to check pets are healthy when investigating suspected child abuse cases.

London's Harrow council is introducing a contract that sets out the responsibilities of families and the duties of officials involved.

The instructions, to be read out to and signed by parents, are said to be the first of their kind in the UK.

The council believes the health of pets is an indicator of a family's ability to care.

Social workers will also be asked to check the contents of family fridges and take photographs inside the home.

A Harrow Council spokeswoman said the instructions were not about giving councils nanny-state powers.

Parenting skills

"It is about ensuring we have a clear picture of what is going in the homes of our most vulnerable children," said Councillor Christine Bednell.

"As recent high-profile cases have shown, social workers often work in an area where the truth is sometimes murky or deliberately concealed by those supposedly looking after children."

A letter to parents states that social workers will check on "your parenting skills" and "your wider family and environment".

It also adds that during visits, social workers will check "there is adequate food in the kitchen cupboards and fridge".

The paperwork has been prepared in the wake of the Baby P case, where multiple failures by various agencies failed to spot threats to the life of the toddler who died in August 2007, despite being on the Haringey Council child protection register.

Meanwhile, Birmingham Social Services has been heavily criticised in a city council report released on Monday which highlights "inexperienced staff with insufficient management oversight".