Responding to the sentencing today of the parents of 23 month old Daniel Jones who died of a heroin overdose, Alan Coe, Chair of the Wolverhampton Safeguarding Children Board said:

"On behalf of the Wolverhampton Safeguarding Children Board, I would like to express my deep sorrow and sadness at the death of Daniel, a shocking event for his family, neighbourhood and indeed the city as a whole. I wish to extend the sympathies of the Board to his family and friends.

"In any instance where health, social care or other services knew and were involved in the family where a child dies non-accidentally, we must always find out if there was anything that might have been done to have better protected them.

"It is for this reason that the Board has already commissioned a Serious Case Review from an independent expert to establish if there are any lessons to be learnt that would improve the outcomes for other children in similar circumstances.

"Once we have that report, we will be in a better position to ascertain whether there are any actions the professional agencies need to take either individually or collectively to improve the way we identify potential risks to children and take action to address them."

  • released: Wednesday 3 July, 2013