BURY Council has won a test case against them for compensation by a parent whose child was taken into care following abuse claims.

The parent, who cannot be named for legal reasons, brought proceedings against the council to the Court of Appeal in London after her child was placed into foster care suffering from unexplained broken bones.

It was subsequently discovered that the child suffered from a brittle bone disorder and the child was returned to the mother's care within four months.

The court has now handed down a unanimous decision in favour of the council and maintained that, "In such claims the duty of care was owed by the local authority to the child and not to the parent."

It dismissed the claim for compensation for alleged psychiatric harm on that basis.

It was felt that it was a matter of public policy that professionals responsible for child protection and investigation of child abuse should be free to exercise their professional functions.

Officials should be able to do this without fear of compensation claims if their concerns proved unfounded, the court decided.