Ed Balls, the children's secretary, yesterday ducked the key issue of whether child protection services were adequately funded, as he gave the government's response to the Baby P abuse scandal. Although he committed £58m to plans for recruiting more top-quality social workers in England, Balls did not respond to a proposal that child protection should get a ring-fenced budget that ...

Reform criticised by Tories and Lib Dems as a 'quick fix', as recommendation for ring-fenced child protection budgets is rejected In a further response to the Baby P child abuse scandal, the government today committed £58m to plans for recruiting more top quality social workers in England. The children's secretary, Ed Balls, however, said he has not yet accepted a proposal for...

The Conservatives last night moved to embarrass Ed Balls, the children's secretary, over the fallout from the Baby P scandal by pledging to publish for the first time a serious case review into the death of a child under social services care. The action, announced by Tim Loughton, the shadow children's minister, sets a precedent for serious case reviews into child abuse, which are tradit...

…again. David Davis What can be done about these people, who have got their teeth into the ankles of civilisation to this extent, but who are so wrong and so bad? And I didn’t necessarily mean the social workers either…. Posted in Announcements, British Media, Education, Events, LA Papers, Liberty   Tagged: Baby P, child abuse, children, Haringey, social workers, s...

What is child abuse? (Click to enlarge) It’s time, once again, to vent our collective spleens. It’s time, once again, for those on the moral high ground to stand up and be counted. It’s time, once again, to crucify a social worker. Haringey Council has done it again. Eight years on from the Victoria Climbie scandal, their social service department has allowed another defenceless child to be ...

Following the conclusion of the trial of the carers of Baby P, The Sun led a major campaign against the social workers who worked with the child. In an open letter to the newspaper, Community Care magazine’s Daniel Lombard asks its editor, Rebekah Wade, to rethink its agenda on social work issues, which could ultimately

A controversial database containing details of every child in England will be rolled out today to ensure "faster contact" between doctors, social workers and police if they suspect a child is at risk.

The secretary of state for children, Ed Balls, yesterday admitted he had "serious concerns" about Doncaster council's ability to care for vulnerable children, following the deaths of seven youngsters through abuse or neglect since 2004. Balls's department has ordered a sweeping investigation into the South Yorkshire council's children's services department, which Ofsted rated a...

Retraining a social worker A three year old child admitted to hospital with multiple fractures, inflicted by the drunken step-father over a period of several months. The social services had been alerted, visited the household, and scheduled a case conference which was due to take place the day after the child died. Once again, too little, too late. Sorting our social workers Guess what, it’s tim...

Social workers have taken a battering. I hope Lord Laming recognises how much we owe them There has long been an absolute conviction among social workers, statutory and voluntary, and politicians local and national, that taking a child into care is to be avoided almost at all cost. The unchallenged philosophy is that we should do everything possible to deflect children from the dreadful consequenc...