@offenceregister: Preston Davey - Lessons that won't be Learned It is now known that 37 reports for another child abuse victim were disregarded by the social services tasked with Preston Davey's safety when he was murdered by his adoptive father a year prior. According to a safeguarding evaluation, Abdur, a ten-year-old boy known to Oldham Council's child services since birth, was hospitalised in February 2022 with scurvy and life-threatening malnutrition after his mother neglected him for several months. According to the report, his teachers observed that he was "rapidly" losing weight, complaining of dental pain, and carrying "mouldy" bread in his lunchbox. After being discharged from the hospital, Abdur—not his real name—returned home to his drug-addicted mother because Oldham Council did not take action on the recommendations from his school. Since the family moved out of Oldham, Greater Manchester, the council is unable to keep an eye on him. Before they were killed or gravely injured during 19 months between late 2021 and mid-2023, Abdur, Preston, and three other children were known to Oldham's social services. According to government statistics, the municipality had the highest rate of physical child abuse in the nation last year, with 146 instances per 10,000 children. Two months before Abdur's hospitalisation, in December 2021, five-year-old Dylan Scanlon's mother, Claire, 40, killed him with a fatal dose of pharmaceuticals. When Dylan was discovered crawling alone along the street at the age of one, social services became aware of him. A safeguarding evaluation also revealed that Oldham Council failed to respond to several referrals. One of the most impoverished places in the nation, the town was embroiled in the grooming gang controversy in the early 2000s. A 2022–2023 council report states that the biggest percentage of children in Britain—38%—live in poverty. MPs have demanded an investigation into the quality of social services in Oldham, where hospital admissions due to intentional and inadvertent child injuries surpassed the regional and national average last year, according to council data. Jamie Varley, who had adopted Preston together with John McGowan-Fazakerley three months prior, killed him in July 2023. Preston, whose mother was incarcerated when he was born, was subjected to severe physical and sexual abuse before his passing, according to testimony given during their trial. Social workers had several chances to step in. Limited resources seem to be worsening the demand for children's services in Oldham. Government statistics show that the percentage of open social worker positions in Oldham increased from 1.8% in 2017 to 38.7% in 2024. 17.3% is the national average. Over the same time period, the staff turnover rate rose from 9.4% to 18.3%. A councillor acknowledged that the excessive turnover among social workers was a major factor in the local authority's "terrible" failure to take any action regarding Abdur's care, despite multiple referrals. The councillor stated, "The transience of social workers, from one local authority to another, not staying long, is a big problem." According to MP, social workers don't step in because they are afraid of offending someone. Due to his mother's past drug usage, Abdur's predicament was reported to social services at birth. Another local authority had permanently taken his older siblings away from her. When Abdur's health began to worsen in 2021, the council was monitoring him under an at-home care order, which allows a child to remain at home while the local government shares parental responsibilities. #PrestonDavey #JamieVarley #JohnMcGowanFazakerley #gayadoption #Oldham

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Monday 22 June 2026 12:00:00 GMT