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| Mortonhall baby ashes: Bereaved parents to get £100k for counselling | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Parents of the infants involved in the Mortonhall baby ashes scandal are to receive funding from the Scottish government for counselling. | |
| First Minister Alex Salmond told MSPs at Holyrood an extra £100,000 would be made available to help families. | |
| He also confirmed that the Lord Advocate had referred Dame Elish Angiolini's report to the police for further investigation. | |
| A working group has been set up to act on the report's recommendations. | |
| The group has been tasked with drawing up an action plan to ensure that there is no repeat of the "tragedy" which saw staff at the crematorium burying ashes in secret for decades. | |
| The report by Dame Elish Angiolini, published on Wednesday, made a series of recommendations for improving practices at the crematorium. | |
| Meanwhile, Scotland's public health minister, Michael Matheson, said there had been "systemic failings" at the crematorium "for several decades". | Meanwhile, Scotland's public health minister, Michael Matheson, said there had been "systemic failings" at the crematorium "for several decades". |
| Michael Matheson claimed there had "obviously been very serious failings" in the way Mortonhall Crematorium in Edinburgh had been run. | Michael Matheson claimed there had "obviously been very serious failings" in the way Mortonhall Crematorium in Edinburgh had been run. |
| Parents of young babies were told that no ashes were left when they were cremated. | Parents of young babies were told that no ashes were left when they were cremated. |
| Action plan | Action plan |
| The report said parents affected by the scandal had not been told that ashes were left after their babies were cremated because it would have been "too distressing". | The report said parents affected by the scandal had not been told that ashes were left after their babies were cremated because it would have been "too distressing". |
| Dame Elish described the practice as a "great tragedy" that left some parents facing a "lifetime of uncertainty". | Dame Elish described the practice as a "great tragedy" that left some parents facing a "lifetime of uncertainty". |
| Following the publication of the report, a motion by the council's ruling Capital Coalition was unanimously approved at a meeting Thursday. | Following the publication of the report, a motion by the council's ruling Capital Coalition was unanimously approved at a meeting Thursday. |
| It called for the creation of a multi-agency working group containing representatives from the council, Scottish government, NHS Lothian and Sands Lothian. | It called for the creation of a multi-agency working group containing representatives from the council, Scottish government, NHS Lothian and Sands Lothian. |
| Its remit will be to consider the recommendations in Dame Elish Angiolini's report and devise an action plan. | Its remit will be to consider the recommendations in Dame Elish Angiolini's report and devise an action plan. |
| Mr Matheson said he hoped the "thoroughness" of the report would provide bereaved parents with some comfort. | Mr Matheson said he hoped the "thoroughness" of the report would provide bereaved parents with some comfort. |
| He told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "For any parent it's difficult to imagine how it must feel to lose a child, but to then be put through the trauma this report highlights is very challenging and it is very distressing. | He told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "For any parent it's difficult to imagine how it must feel to lose a child, but to then be put through the trauma this report highlights is very challenging and it is very distressing. |
| "One element I can say that I hope some parents would take some reassurance from is the detail and the very thoroughness of this report that Dame Elish Angiolini has completed, which goes into the whole issue in great detail and illustrates what have been systemic failings at Mortonhall Crematorium for several decades now. | "One element I can say that I hope some parents would take some reassurance from is the detail and the very thoroughness of this report that Dame Elish Angiolini has completed, which goes into the whole issue in great detail and illustrates what have been systemic failings at Mortonhall Crematorium for several decades now. |
| "At Mortonhall Crematorium there appears to have been a culture which has been based upon practices established by certain members of staff over many years on the basis of how they wanted to run the crematorium in their own way. | "At Mortonhall Crematorium there appears to have been a culture which has been based upon practices established by certain members of staff over many years on the basis of how they wanted to run the crematorium in their own way. |
| "There have obviously been very serious failings in the way in which this crematorium has been managed over a long period of time and that's why it is important that the recommendations that Dame Elish outlined in her report are considered in great detail, so we can address the failings." | "There have obviously been very serious failings in the way in which this crematorium has been managed over a long period of time and that's why it is important that the recommendations that Dame Elish outlined in her report are considered in great detail, so we can address the failings." |
| Special meeting | Special meeting |
| Andrew Burns, Edinburgh City Council leader, said: "On behalf of the council, I want to offer profound apologies to parents for the distress and pain caused by the previous practices at Mortonhall." | Andrew Burns, Edinburgh City Council leader, said: "On behalf of the council, I want to offer profound apologies to parents for the distress and pain caused by the previous practices at Mortonhall." |
| He said he had asked the council's chief executive to put together a multi-agency working group to consider the report's recommendations. | He said he had asked the council's chief executive to put together a multi-agency working group to consider the report's recommendations. |
| "The group will be tasked with a detailed action plan for consideration at next month's special meeting of council," he said. | "The group will be tasked with a detailed action plan for consideration at next month's special meeting of council," he said. |
| "We must act on the recommendations to ensure that the highest possible standards are adhered to at Mortonhall and that nothing like this can happen again." | "We must act on the recommendations to ensure that the highest possible standards are adhered to at Mortonhall and that nothing like this can happen again." |
| Sue Bruce will be responsible for chairing and facilitating both the operation of the working group and the delivery of its remit. | Sue Bruce will be responsible for chairing and facilitating both the operation of the working group and the delivery of its remit. |
| Dame Elish's report said it was not known for sure what remains of which babies were interred in an unmarked "garden of remembrance" at Mortonhall due to a "longstanding and wholesale failure" to keep accurate records. | Dame Elish's report said it was not known for sure what remains of which babies were interred in an unmarked "garden of remembrance" at Mortonhall due to a "longstanding and wholesale failure" to keep accurate records. |
| The inquiry also found that baby ashes were cremated in the evening when incinerators were cooler, and any ash found in the morning "would be mixed in with the first adult cremation in the morning". | The inquiry also found that baby ashes were cremated in the evening when incinerators were cooler, and any ash found in the morning "would be mixed in with the first adult cremation in the morning". |
| There will be a ministerial statement on the Mortonhall Investigation Report at 2.30pm, which can be viewed live or later on demand, at BBC Scotland's Democracy Live website. | There will be a ministerial statement on the Mortonhall Investigation Report at 2.30pm, which can be viewed live or later on demand, at BBC Scotland's Democracy Live website. |