British Child Migrants:
The Response of the British Government to the Report of the Health Committee
A summary by C-BERS Service Chairperson, Maria Harries



The response of the British Government to the Report on Child Migration has been
welcomed by many of us -- although almost everyone has strong feelings about something
or other that was not sufficiently well dealt with.



First, lets talk about what the report does do.



The Report Acknowledges:

1.	That the policy which resulted in hundreds of "orphans" being sent to Australia was "misguided".
2.	That the care of children sent to Australia was often sub-standard.
3.	That the British Government played a key role in developing the "misguided policy" of child migration.
4.	That the practice of child migration was "in human terms, a costly mistake".
5.	That the practice of child migration has to "irreversible, irrevocable damage" to the children who were sent from the UK.
6.	That certain individuals and bodies have successfully worked very hard to raise the awareness of the terrible impact of child migration, both on the children who were sent away from their families, and on the families they left behind. In particular the report acknowledges the "invaluable work" of the Child Migrants Trust.
7.	That governments have so far provided only a low level of funding to services that help former child migrants deal with the consequences of their migration.

The Report Maintains:


That the most important thing to do now is to "learn from the lessons
of the past ... and move forward positively and concentrate on improving support".


That all governments and agencies should now work together to provide assistance
to former child migrants to improve the supports for them,


The Health Committee visited Australia, Canada, and New Zealand in mid 1998
and received submissions from child migrants and agencies in each of the countries.
Many recommendations were made. The main recommendations accepted by the Committee
are reported below.


The Report Accepts:

1.	That the priority must be to provide practical support services to former child migrants.
2.	That a central index must be developed to enable former child migrants to find all the information that they need about their families and their history in order to "confirm their identity" and that this central index must protect the confidentiality of information about former child migrants and their families.
3.	That a website be set up within the British Department of Health and link to other international websites so that former child migrants and their families can have their enquiries responded to efficiently.
4.	That the British Government establish a Support Fund of 1 million over three years to: enable former child migrants to visit their country, their families, and "sites of personal importance" to them. provide counselling that is free of charge provide financial assistance
5.	That former child migrants and their families have a right to "make their own choice" about which services they wish to use.

The Report Encourages:

Other governments who took part in child migration schemes to:

make a response to the Health Committee Report,
work out ways that they can provide practical help to former child migrants and their families,
conduct their own inquiries into "post-war practicies" in childcare institutions,
support former child migrants to take civil action in relation to any personal injuries they have sustained.

What the report does NOT do:

The Report does NOT acknowledge:

1.	That the Congregation of Christian Brothers in Western Australia has provided substantial funding and undertaken significant work to support former child migrants to: Trace their family history, reunite with their family of origin, receive free counselling support for any personal issues they may be experiencing in their day-to-day lives.
2.	That the Congregation of Christian Brothers and former child migrants in Western Australia have committed considerable resources towards the development of a Personal History Index.

The Report does NOT accept:

1.	That a public apology is as important as providing the means for former child migrants to obtain the help they need now.
2.	That compensation payments are the most appropriate action. The report argues instead that any compensation activity might well jeopardise the fragile trust that is developing between agencies and compromise the work that needs to be done to set up a central index and collaborative services.
3.	That former child migrants should be entitled to British pensions.

My own view is that the gains evidenced in this Report far outweigh the losses.

People are justifiably critical of the fact the Report does not recommend:

a public apology by the British Government
Compensation payments to former child migrants
eligibility of former child migrants to British pensions

However, the two important achievements are

acknowledgement of the problem
committment to action

People may well be critical that the money allocated to services is insufficient.


However, all governments have been urged to provide more assistance and services
to child migrants.


Indeed, the West Australian Government is on record as having endorsed plans
to improve services for former child migrants and has already demonstrated this
committment.


The Director General of the Department of Family and Children's Services has
called together the various people whoe are providing services in this State
to discuss future plans. I will report on the outcome of that meeting in the
next newsletter.



Maria Harries
Chairperson C-BERS Services

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