Social work fears in aftermath of Baby P case

Published on Thursday 27 November 2008 16:44

SOCIAL workers should not face general attack in the aftermath of the Baby P case, First Minister Alex Salmond said today.

He spoke out in Parliament after concerns were raised by the Association of Directors of Social Work in the Scotland that the profession face vilification over the case.

"Those who work in child protection in Scotland do a fantastic job," Mr Salmond said during First Minister's Questions today.

"They are a highly qualified and highly motivated profession and they should not be subject to general attack because of an individual instance – tragic – but an individual instance in one council."

The Baby P case saw a 17-month-old boy killed after months of abuse.

An initial investigation found evidence of poor quality practice, management and supervision of staff in Haringey, North London.

"When you get a tragic instance such as the Baby P case there almost is a tension between people rightly wanting to focus attention on the case to say it's unacceptable," the First Minister added.

But he said people have to be careful that while identifying faults, which "obviously" took place in this specific case, they do not generalise that to an "entire workforce" in the social work sector.

Baby P, who cannot be named for legal reasons, died after suffering 50 injuries including a broken back, eight fractured ribs and extensive bruising.

Nationalist backbencher Christine Grahame had earlier cited concerns by Alan Baird, president of the Association of Directors of Social Work in Scotland, over the "vilification" of the profession after the Baby P case.

After a nine-week Old Bailey trial, Jason Owen, 36, from Bromley, and a 32-year-old man were convicted of "causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person".

The boy's mother had already pleaded guilty to the same charge.

Mr Salmond had earlier told Labour's Karen Whitefield there had been a "substantial increase" in the number of child protection referrals in Scotland this year to 12,400 children.

But he said: "The number of children actually placed on the child protection register has fallen by 10%."

He said this provides "early evidence" that early interventions are starting to have a positive impact.