Proposal was presented by the social attaché at the embassy in London and the Consul General of Manchester.
DANIEL ROCHA
London
The Lincolnshire Social Services accepted the proposal submitted Thursday by the social attaché at the embassy in London, José António Galaz , and the Consul General of Manchester, Carlos Sousa Amaro : the five children last year removed from a Portuguese couple will stay together in Portugal .
The children were taken from the family a year ago, after the oldest at school had said that the father hit hem. In December, a judge of the Family Court decided to remove them definitively from their parents, Carla and Joseph Peter. The three oldest would go to foster care and the two youngest for adoption .
Carla and Jose Pedro did not consent to the adoption. The magistrate’s judgment was based on a clause allowing to relinquish without parental consent, when it is considered that the parents are unable to give consent or that the welfare of children requires that parental consent is waived .
Social services have chosen to separate the children, says the Secretary of State for Communities , Joseph Cesario. The eldest son (14 years) and middle daughter (seven) are with foster families of Skegeness. The eldest daughter (13 years) is at another foster family in Stamford. And in this small town there are also the two smaller children (three -five years) .
The proposal of the attaché and ambassador was to keep all the children together in an institution, explains Joseph Cesario. This is the logic of the promotion and protection of children and youth at risk in Portugal. The transfer should be formalized as soon as possible with all the guarantees that the decision by the British court will be respected .
For now, the official further said, the referral for adoption of the two younger children remained. This process, however, could be suspended at any time .
In Portugal a children’s home has been identified with vacancies to accommodate five children. Contact with the host institution would now be resumed. There are a number of procedures that must be respected and which involve contact between this entity and the British Services.
