Hi, oh I agree he shouldn't have let the boy stay round there, but he felt very pressurised by the child and figured she may be responsible (ish) if there were other kids to care for too. He won't be doing it again, and is going to be completely honest with Social Services when they meet on Tuesday. By the way, he's not my OH, he's the father of my stepdaughter's half sibling (confusing I know). Also, I didn't buy the new clothes, the boy's paternal grandmother did.
Thing is too, mum has never bought clothes for the children. All of their clothing was either hand me downs, or bought by either the boy's dad/grandmother or when my SD was living there, bought by us or my husband's mother. Mum has never bought clothing for the children because she's always been on benefits and alcohol has always come first.