Increase in public concern about the abuse of children in residential homes has led to a proliferation of inquiries and large-scale criminal investigations throughout the 1990s and into the new millennium. The authors examine the background and context to these developmentals in detail. A focal point of the book is an in-depth analysis of the North Wales Tribunal (to which the authors were given extended access) - the events that led up to it, the process it followed and the recommendations that it made.

The authors set out their own recommendations for future public inquiries into residential abuse. Public Inquiries into Abuse of Children in Residential Care contains a wealth of material derived from public inquiries that provides a key knowledge base for practitioners and those responsible for the provision of residential care for children. It also highlights some major issues in relation to monitoring and inquiring into matters of national concern which are also of major importance to public policy students and practitioners.