Lord Laming: Child protection reforms have not been given priority

Published on Thursday 12 March 2009 16:55

TOO many child protection authorities have failed to adopt reforms introduced after the Victoria Climbie tragedy in 2000, a report said today.

Lord Laming, who led the damning Climbie inquiry, criticised public bodies for not doing enough to turn the policy changes he recommended six years ago into frontline practice.

The Government asked him to carry out an urgent nationwide review of child welfare services in the wake of Baby P's violent death in 2007

while on the child protection register.

Today Lord Laming said child protection had not been given the priority it deserved, noting that 200,000 of the 11 million children in England lived in homes with a known high risk of violence or abuse.

There was overwhelming support for the reforms introduced after his landmark 2003 Climbie report, he wrote.

Writing in block capitals – in an expression of frustration – his report said: "In such circumstances it is hard to resist the urge to respond by saying to each of the key services, if that is so, 'NOW JUST DO IT!"'

Lord Laming reserved much of his criticism for the workings of social services departments, which he said suffered from "low staff morale, poor supervision, high caseloads, under-resourcing and inadequate training".

Child protection work was felt to be a "Cinderella service" and social workers were losing confidence because of an "over-emphasis on process and targets", the report said.

Lord Laming singled out current computer systems for recording information about vulnerable children, saying they were "hampering progress".

Social workers' professional practice and judgment are being compromised by an "over-complicated, lengthy and tick-box assessment and recording system", he said.

A 16-year-old boy interviewed for the report said of social workers: "It seems like they have to do all this form filling.

"Their bosses' bosses make them do it, but it makes them forget about us."

Speaking at the report's launch in central London, Lord Laming urged everyone from Government ministers to the newest social worker to address these problems.

He said: "I feel we've got it within our grasp to build the finest child protection service in the world."

The report made 58 recommendations for how to bring about a "step change" in protecting children from harm.

Children's Secretary Ed Balls said the Government would take immediate action to implement them all.

He also announced that Sir Roger Singleton, the former head of Barnardo's, has been appointed as the Government's first chief adviser on the safety of children.

Mr Balls told the House of Commons: "None of Lord Laming's proposals alone could have prevented the death of Baby P.

"But all of them together add up to a step change in frontline child protection.

"No barrier, no bureaucracy, no buck-passing should ever get in the way of keeping children safe."

Victoria Climbie was eight when she died in February 2000 having suffered horrific abuse at the hands of her great-aunt and the aunt's boyfriend.

One of the local authorities involved – Haringey Council in north London – was severely criticised for failings in its involvement with Victoria in Lord Laming's report.

But it was thrust into the spotlight again in August 2007 when 17-month-old Baby P died in the same area.

He had suffered more than 50 injuries despite receiving 60 visits from Haringey social workers, doctors and police over an eight-month period.

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."

Lord Laming's report was released as Mr Balls announced a new management team would take over running of children's services at Doncaster Council after an inspection highlighted serious concerns.

Doncaster was one of only four local authorities in the country – the others were Haringey, Surrey and Milton Keynes – to be judged "inadequate" in an annual Audit Commission assessment.

Doncaster's elected mayor, Martin Winter, said he would not stand for re-election in June.