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GOVERNMENT COMMITMENT TO DELIVERING LAMING RECOMMENDATIONS
12 March 2009Children’s Secretary Ed Balls today welcomed Lord Laming’s progress report on child protection in England and on behalf of the Government accepted all of Lord Laming’s recommendations. Mr Balls pledged that the whole of central Government would work with local government and front line services to drive forward the wide-ranging proposals. In his report, The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report, Lord Laming acknowledged that Government reforms introduced through Every Child Matters provided a firm foundation, but there now needs to be a renewed commitment to child protection at every level of government and across all local services.Announcing immediate steps towards implementing Laming’s recommendations, Ed Balls confirmed: • The appointment of a new Chief Adviser on the Safety of Children, Sir Roger Singleton, who will report annually to Parliament on the implementation of Lord Laming’s recommendations and progress on safeguarding children. • A new cross-Government National Safeguarding Delivery Unit to drive continuous improvement in front-line practice across all services, and provide support and challenge to every Local Authority and every Children’s Trust as they fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities;• The Government will revise the Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance to reflect Lord Laming’s recommendations to strengthen policy and practice, including in relation to Serious Case Reviews. This will make explicitly clear what all practitioners and agencies need to do to keep children safe.• He would strengthen the challenge role of Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) and clarify the relationship between Children’s Trusts and LSCBs, which should in future be independently chaired. • Two members of the general public will also be appointed to every LSCB in the country to open up the child protection system to greater public scrutiny;• The Government would put in place professional development and leadership training to develop a children’s services workforce that is confident and skilled at making the right decisions and provide the right report;• Immediate measures to improve support for frontline social workers; to address recruitment and retention; and, to begin to raise the morale of the profession.• Appoint Francis Plowden, a member of the Judicial Appointments Commission, to lead a review into court fees in public law cases and whether they are a barrier to social workers taking legal action to ensure the safety of a child.Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls said:“I am hugely grateful to Lord Laming and to all the experts, practitioners and members of the public who have contributed to his very thorough investigation.“Lord Laming makes a series of detailed recommendations to ensure best practice is universally applied in every area of the country, to improve local accountability, and to provide more support for local leaders and for the front-line workforce.“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. “It is our first duty in government and as a society to do all we can to keep our children safe. And it is our responsibility to act decisively – as we have done in recent months, as we are doing today in Doncaster, and as we will do as we implement all of Lord Laming’s recommendations.”A more detailed action plan on all 58 recommendations will be published by Government by the end of April.Health Secretary Alan Johnson said: “I would like to thank Lord Laming for his report which restates the vital responsibility of NHS staff in safeguarding children. The health and well-being of children is a top priority for the Government and the NHS. We will do everything we can to ensure that staff across the service have the support they need to fulfil their responsibilities. “Lord Laming reinforces the key role of the health visitor and their contribution to child protection. I have today asked the Chief Nursing Officer to lead a ‘Programme of Action on Health Visiting’. This will be developed and delivered in partnership with the Community Practitioner Health Visitor Association, other key stakeholders and NHS experts across the country. It will ensure the role of health visitors is properly defined; that they are supported in their vital work; that career opportunities are enhanced and numbers of health visitors are increased substanially. “Last December, NHS Chief Executive David Nicholson asked all local chief executives and boards to review and strengthen their arrangements for safeguarding children and this work is already under way. We will continue to work with healthcare professionals and NHS managers to ensure comprehensive training and support is available for all staff with child protection responsibilities. “ Justice Secretary Jack Straw said:“I welcome this report from Lord Laming. Child protection proceedings are some of the most sensitive cases that come before the courts. “Along with Ministerial colleagues, I will look in detail at the recommendations in this report and will take action where necessary to protect children in these terrible cases. I have already appointed Francis Plowden to review independently whether court fees act as a deterrent in commencing care proceedings.”Jacqui Smith, Home Secretary, said:“Keeping children safe must be a priority at all levels – nationally and locally – and more needs to be done to ensure this.
“The Home Office will now work closely and urgently with all our partners, including the Police Service, to develop a full and effective response and ensure that all necessary action is taken to ensure children are protected.”Editor's Notes
This press notice relates to 'England'
1. The letter from Ed Balls to Lord Laming can be found at http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/socialcare/safeguarding/ 2. Lord Laming's report can be found at http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/socialcare/safeguarding/ 3. A copy of Ed Ball's statement to the House can be found at http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/speeches/latest.cfm
Contact Details
Public Enquiries 0870 000 2288, info@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
Press Notice 2009/0052
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