Mr. Fred McBride:

The point I was trying to make is that the questions of how and when we intervene in the disclosure of sexual abuse require great care and consideration. If one intervenes too quickly, there is a danger that the child or adult making the disclosure will shut down, as we have seen quite a lot. When this occurs, one is not able to take the matter any further. Ms Finlay has given some indication of some of the reasons we cannot progress things, one being that the disclosure is insufficiently detailed. Alternatively, because of the space we have been put in by case law, we cannot compel the person against whom the allegation is being made to come forward and give any response to it. Sometimes, therefore, the inquiries run into the sand. Those are some of the reasons.

It is absolutely true that there are inconsistencies in safety planning. That is absolutely why we are now developing a national approach to practice to address that particular issue. Members have heard about the signs of safety initiative. Some 1,200 out of approximately 1,500 social workers are already trained in that methodology. We are confident that will lead to much greater consistency and quality of intervention when we intervene.