According to Slovak authorities social services in Great Britain took another 30 children away from their Slovak parents in the second half of last year. Labour Minister Jan Richter said the reasons varied, but in all cases they met the requirements of the British law for the children to be taken into care. “In most cases that took place in England ... if these cases had happened in Slovakia, social services would have had no choice but to proceed in the same way even under the most liberal of Slovak laws. It was about parents being irresponsible towards their own children,” concluded Richter.
The Slovak Ministry of Family and Social Affairs intervenes in some cases in which it sees some chance for returning children to their families such as the case of children in Liverpool. Richter, however, underlined the fact that it's very important for all Slovaks who travel to Great Britain to be aware of and respect the local legislation when it comes to childcare.
Anca Dragu
