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Plea to help Barnados reunite families

Frank Dobson, the Health Secretary, will be asked to give emergency financial aid to childrens' charity Barnados to help it clear a backlog of families it is attempting to reunite.

The charity, which started operating childrens' homes in 1867, has been trying to put children it cared for back in touch with any surviving members of their natural families. But the demand for help has been so large -- so far 5,500 requests have been received -- that the charity has been overwhelmed.

Records were kept of children's families at the time they were taken into care, but it was not until two years ago that Barnados opened its files.

Harrogate MP Phil Willis is tabling an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons to ask for an emergency package from the Government to help the charity deal with the requests. Processing cases is currently taking between three and five years.

Mr Willis said: "Barnados did a remarkable job in looking after literally thousands of young people who were left either homeless or without parents and I think we now owe an obligation to support them when they have taken this bold step of releasing records to make sure the backlog is cleared as soon as possible."

Barnados spokeswoman Colette Bradford said the charity had received inquiries from people aged up to 102, and so had started working through the cases in age groups.

"We've looked at people who have told us they are very ill or had other exceptional circumstances. We'd like to see everyone straight away today. But we're doing it the best way we know how."

Majorie Johnson, 57, is one of those who have been reunited with her family. She was taken into Barnados care in 1945, but has only just got back in contact with her three sisters and her brother.

She has mixed feelings about the whole affair. She said: "I feel quite bitter about it really, because to think that they have sat on my files since 1945. I'm 57-years-old and they have known that I have had brothers and sisters and never said a thing to me."

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