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12/03/2009
Children 'Not Getting Adequate Protection Against Abuse': Report
Child protection issues have not had "the priority they deserve over the last five years", according to a new report released today.
Lord Laming's review, commissioned by the Government after the brutal death of Baby P told those in children's services that the necessary reforms were in place and they should "now just do it".
His report commissioned in the wake of the death of Baby P, criticised failings in sharing information between agencies, as well as poor training and support for "overstretched" frontline staff and the red tape "hampering" social workers.
"We have to make sure social workers are properly supported, trained and looked after," Lord Laming said.
"It is a job that not only involves intellectual demands but it is a job that is emotionally very stressful."
Ed Balls, the Children's Minister, (pictured) ordered the audit at the end of the trial of those responsible for the death of 17-month-old Baby P who suffered more than 50 injuries despite receiving over 60 visits from social workers, doctors and police.
The Government has accepted all the reports recommendations.
Mr Balls said: "We are taking immediate action from today to implement them, and we will also send out our detailed response to all 58 of its recommendations before the end of next month.
"No barrier, no bureaucracy, no buck-passing should ever get in the way of keeping children safe."
In a previous report in 2003, Lord Laming made more than 100 recommendations to the Government for reforming the child protection system, following the death of abuse victim Victoria Climbie, in 2000.
The public inquiry chaired by Lord Laming found Victoria could have been saved on 12 separate occasions if the relevant services had mediated.
Her great-aunt, Marie-Therese Kouao, and Kouao's boyfriend, Carl Manning, are now serving life sentences for her murder.
Lord Laming was scathing about these kinds of failings in his report today.
He said: "It has been put to me that it is inevitable that some adults, for whatever reason, will deliberately harm children. That may well be so.
"Nevertheless, it cannot be beyond our wit to put in place ways of identifying early those children at risk of deliberate harm, and to put in place the means of securing their safety and proper development."
Laming is expected to back the Westminster government's plan for a national database of children at risk, known as ContactPoint.
(JM/BMcC)
Lord Laming's review, commissioned by the Government after the brutal death of Baby P told those in children's services that the necessary reforms were in place and they should "now just do it".
His report commissioned in the wake of the death of Baby P, criticised failings in sharing information between agencies, as well as poor training and support for "overstretched" frontline staff and the red tape "hampering" social workers.
"We have to make sure social workers are properly supported, trained and looked after," Lord Laming said.
"It is a job that not only involves intellectual demands but it is a job that is emotionally very stressful."
Ed Balls, the Children's Minister, (pictured) ordered the audit at the end of the trial of those responsible for the death of 17-month-old Baby P who suffered more than 50 injuries despite receiving over 60 visits from social workers, doctors and police.
The Government has accepted all the reports recommendations.
Mr Balls said: "We are taking immediate action from today to implement them, and we will also send out our detailed response to all 58 of its recommendations before the end of next month.
"No barrier, no bureaucracy, no buck-passing should ever get in the way of keeping children safe."
In a previous report in 2003, Lord Laming made more than 100 recommendations to the Government for reforming the child protection system, following the death of abuse victim Victoria Climbie, in 2000.
The public inquiry chaired by Lord Laming found Victoria could have been saved on 12 separate occasions if the relevant services had mediated.
Her great-aunt, Marie-Therese Kouao, and Kouao's boyfriend, Carl Manning, are now serving life sentences for her murder.
Lord Laming was scathing about these kinds of failings in his report today.
He said: "It has been put to me that it is inevitable that some adults, for whatever reason, will deliberately harm children. That may well be so.
"Nevertheless, it cannot be beyond our wit to put in place ways of identifying early those children at risk of deliberate harm, and to put in place the means of securing their safety and proper development."
Laming is expected to back the Westminster government's plan for a national database of children at risk, known as ContactPoint.
(JM/BMcC)
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