A bereaved mother fighting to find out why her daughter died in the care of Pembrokeshire County Council has been refused sight of a serious case review report yet again.

Sarah Pollock has been calling on the council to let her see the full serious case review carried out into the death of her daughter, 14-year-old Seren Bernard, in 2012.

Seren killed herself while in the care of the council, despite her mother’s best efforts to bring her home.

In response to question submitted by member of the public, Ryan Dansie, Cabinet member for well-being Tessa Hodgson said: “There is clear legal advice that it is not within the gift of the council to disclose the full report and it is therefore, with regret, that we are not in a position to disclose the full report to Miss Pollock.”

A summary report of a serious case review into Seren’s death was published in January 2014 and found that there were a number of lessons to be drawn from the case but added it “must remain uncertain whether there were any steps that, if taken, would have prevented” her death.

An inquest into Seren’s death in June 2015 returned a conclusion of suicide.

Cllr Hodgson told full council on Thursday that the report was prepared under legal acts which have now changed, and a similar report written now would be released in full, with names anonymised.

“On a personal level I can fully sympathises with the request made by Seren’s mother to see the full overview report," said Cllr Hodgson.

Ms Pollock said she was “absolutely appalled” by the council’s refusal to let her see the full report and she would continue to campaign for its release.

She questioned how the Authority expected lessons to be learned when the report was “in lock down”.

Mr Dansie said: “While there is a need to protect personal information, it's wrong to use this to cut out parents. If the report continues to be denied then the questions should be asked in whose interest has this decision been made?

“The Mik Smith case at least shows that PCC are able to anonymise personal data to make it suitable for release if they only choose to do so. It also highlights historic failings in PCC relating to children’s services.”

He called on the council to be transparent and allow any failings, or otherwise, to be examined.

“The mother has already tried to get answers from PCC officers, has sought help from councillors and has made a lot of effort to put her case into the public domain but yet has still not managed to get access to this report. This is not just going to go away if ignored and PCC should not drag this out any longer than necessary," he added.