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...

Spending time on the frontline is what matters, children's secretary tells profession Child protection managers should spend less time in offices and more time supporting overworked social workers on the frontline, the children's secretary Ed Balls said today. Many social workers dealing with complex child abuse cases in England were too inexperienced and it was unacceptable for them not...

The Baby P scandal has prompted Children's Secretary Ed Balls to order social services bosses in charge of protecting children to retrain.

The government is pumping £58 million to stop the exodus of social workers from the profession since the Baby P scandal broke.

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 ...

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...

Foreign social workers who are trained to deal with children are to be fast-tracked into Britain under plans to halt an escalating recruitment crisis, the Observer has learnt. The migration advisory committee, which guides the government over skilled workers from outside the European Union, will make the recommendation to the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, this month. Social services departments ac...

Ed Balls the Children's Secretary has announced a £58 million sixpoint plan to "transform" social services in the wake of the Baby P scandal.

The government tonight ordered an urgent review into child welfare within Haringey council, the local authority responsible for the care of a baby who died despite 60 visits by health and social care workers. Ed Balls, the children's secretary, issued a statement describing the case of Baby P as tragic and appalling. The case had earlier sparked angry exchanges in parliament between the prime...

Children's Secretary Ed Balls has spoken of his hope of some good coming out of the tragedy of Baby Peter as he unveiled sweeping Government reforms in a bid to transform the demoralised social work profession.