Aberdeen City Council has been accused of “failing” three children after a court has found they were neglected and living in “almost Dickensian” conditions while under social work supervision.
The youngsters – who were between the ages of 10 months and eight – were raised in a property that was littered with medicine bottles, bin bags and uneaten food and one child’s teeth were so decayed that all 20 had to be removed.
Their mother has now appeared in Aberdeen Sheriff Court and pleaded guilty to three charges of neglect.
On one occasion, the woman – who is in her 30s and The Press & Journal cannot name to protect the identity of her children – overdosed on opiates in the presence of all three and an ambulance had to be called.
The court heard the offences took place over a two-year period when the family were receiving weekly social work visits.
Jennifer Stewart, convener of the council’s public protection committee, said she was “sickened to the core” by the case – and pledged to investigate why the neglect was not acted upon sooner.
Aberdeen North MP Kirsty Blackman said the city council had “very badly failed” the children.
The local authority declined to comment.
Weekly social care visits
The woman’s lawyer described the case as “one of the most tragic” he has ever encountered and said her behaviour came about as a result of a “crippling” addiction to drugs.
During an emotional hearing, the court was told how the children were not cared for properly for a period of more than two years and four months.
Fiscal depute Rebecca Thompson said the children had previously been in foster care but were returned to their mother in 2017, with weekly social care visits.
In the course of the visits, urine samples were taken for drug tests, which came back positive for opiates, and in 2018 she overdosed.
The court heard the eldest child was seen to attend school looking “grubby and unkempt”.
The youngest child was also seen to be “presenting as unwashed” and medicine bottles were seen lying on the sofa of the family home in Aberdeen.
Ms Thompson said: “In April 2019, calls were made to social work by workmen regarding the state of the accused’s home.”
The floors were “extremely dirty” and bin bags and uneaten food were also lying around.
The eldest child was noted to have been left on their own.
‘All 20 teeth had to be extracted’
Due to the woman’s failure to make dental appointments, the middle child had to have nine teeth removed under anaesthetic due to decay.
On another occasion in 2019, a social worker visited the home and observed the youngest and middle children “hanging out of a first-floor window”.
A further social attended later and found the mother “dazed” with a bottle of vodka at her feet.
In August 2019 the children were removed from their mother’s care.
One child, aged three by this point, was subsequently assessed by a dentist and “it was deemed all 20 teeth had to be extracted”.
The mother pled guilty to three charges of wilfully neglecting a child in a manner likely to cause them unnecessary suffering or injury to health.
The charges state she failed to keep the children clean and to clean the house to an adequate standard, with dirty clothes and uneaten food left lying around.
She also left them unsupervised on various occasions while under the influence of drink or drugs and overdosed in their presence.
‘It’s extremely tragic’
Defence agent Liam Mcallister said: “This is probably one of the most tragic cases I’ve had to deal with.
“Most sympathy goes to the children who sadly found themselves in a situation where their mother could no longer cope with looking after herself.”
He described the case as “almost Dickensian”.
Mr Mcallister said his client “needs support”, adding: “She has very little record, but a crippling, crippling addiction.”
He said the woman now had supervised contact with her children once a month.
Sheriff Margaret Hodge told the woman: “As your solicitor said, it’s extremely tragic, for the children principally, but for you as well.
“It does seem to me you would benefit from the support available from the social work department.”
She ordered her to be supervised for a year.
‘Describing it as Dickensian is perhaps being generous’
Counciller Jennifer Stewart, convener of the public protection committee – which has oversight on child protection issues – said: “I speak as a mother of three and I feel sickened to the core to hear of such unimaginable neglect of innocent children.
“Describing it as Dickensian is perhaps being generous – it sounds a lot worse than that.
“I’m so disappointed, particularly because during the pandemic the work the social work department has been doing to look after youngsters in the city has been outstanding and rightly praised.
“But something has clearly gone wrong in this case and I will certainly be asking questions and requesting an explanation to find out why.”
‘These children have been very badly failed’
Kirsty Blackman said: “It is vitally important that our social services are properly resourced and that staff are empowered and supported to take decisions in the interests of children and other vulnerable people.
“It is clear that the system has not operated properly here, and, as a result, these children have been very badly failed by Aberdeen City Council.
“I hope that the children are now provided with all the support and care they need and deserve.”
An Aberdeen City Council spokeswoman would only say: “We do not comment on individual cases.”
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