Baby P: Ed Balls Statement In Full And Sun’s Failed Campaign
I received the full confidential Serious Case Review into the death of Baby P on the morning of 12 November. After studying it and seeing the clear failings of practice and management that it highlighted, I immediately arranged for the secondment to Haringey of John Coughlan, the Director of Children’s Services in Hampshire, to oversee that proper procedures for safeguarding children are in place and being followed.
We also immediately decided that Ofsted, the Healthcare Commission and the Chief Inspector of Constabulary should carry out an urgent inspection of safeguarding in Haringey.
At 6 o’clock yesterday evening, I received the final draft of the inspectors’ report. The Children’s Minister and I studied it overnight with our experts. Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector Christine Gilbert presented the final report to us at 9 o’clock this morning and to Haringey Council shortly thereafter. And copies of the final report and my response have been passed to the Home Secretary, the Health Secretary, the Opposition spokespeople, the two local MPs and the Chairman of the Select Committee.
This morning, I met with the Leader, Deputy Leader, Lead Member for Children’s Services and Chief Executive of Haringey Council to discuss the report’s findings and my response. I am grateful for Haringey’s co-operation and agreement to act upon my decisions. And as you will know, in the last hour, the Leader of the Council and the Lead Member for Children’s Services have announced their resignations.
Over the past fortnight, as part of their work, the Inspectors have studied the case files on Baby P and his family, the full Serious Case Review and a significant number of other child protection case files – and their report delivers a damning verdict on the current management of safeguarding in Haringey.
In their summary judgement, the Inspectors say that there are:
“…a number of serious concerns in relation to safeguarding of children and young people in Haringey. The contribution of local services to improving outcomes for children and young people at risk or requiring safeguarding is inadequate and needs urgent and sustained attention.”
They find that:
“…the arrangements for the leadership and management of safeguarding by the local authority and partner agencies are inadequate.”
The catalogue of failings reported to me – many of which are clearly apparent in the case of Baby P – include:
– a failure to identify those children and young people at immediate risk of harm and to act on evidence;
– agencies generally working in isolation from one another and without any effective co-ordination;
– poor gathering, recording and sharing of information;
– inconsistent quality of front-line practice and insufficient evidence of supervision by senior management;
– insufficient management oversight of the Assistant Director of Children’s Services by the Director of Children’s Services and Chief Executive;
– incomplete reporting of the management audit report by senior officials to elected members;
– insufficient challenge by the Local Safeguarding Children Board to its members and also to front-line staff;
– an overdependence on performance data, which was not always accurate;
– and poor child protection plans.
The Inspectors also highlight a failure to talk directly to children at risk; and where children were not seen alone, it worries me greatly that the Inspectors find little evidence of management follow-up to ensure that children suspected of being abused were properly heard and able to speak up without fear.
Posted: 1st, December 2008 | In: Key Posts, Politicians Comments (13) | TrackBack | Permalink
