Laws, Featherstone, Harris and Hemming quiz Balls re 'Baby P'

11.51.17am GMT Sat 22nd Nov 2008

' . . DOES he agree that in the light of what we now know about the baby P case, the executive summary is an extremely bland and incomplete assessment of the case that is of little real value?'

[Nov 20] • David Laws (Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Children, Schools and Families; Yeovil, Liberal Democrat) : I start by thanking the Secretary of State for advance sight of today's statement and for his letter this morning on serious case reviews. I understand his problem with publishing serious case reviews, but does he accept that the current situation is deeply unsatisfactory? When he considers the published executive summary, which has been made available by the local safeguarding children board, does he agree that in the light of what we now know about the baby P case, the executive summary is an extremely bland and incomplete assessment of the case that is of little real value? When a child dies in such a way, are we not entitled to more accountability and openness? Will he re-examine that particular issue?

I want to ask the Secretary of State about the urgent joint area review, which he commissioned a week or so ago. Is that review really looking at what happened in the baby P case, or is it merely checking the effectiveness of existing child protection services in Haringey? My hon. Friend Lynne Featherstone has been informed by people within the council that some local managers in Haringey are selecting the staff to whom the investigators can talk. If that is true, it is a matter of great concern. Will the Secretary of State confirm whether that is true? If not, will he investigate as a matter of urgency? Given that he cannot publish the serious case review and that he has been left with a very short inquiry of a couple of weeks, which will not get to the bottom of the issue, particularly in relation to baby P, is it not now obvious that we need a full, independent public inquiry?

The Secretary of State has indicated that the nub of the case is not a lack of contact but a wrong judgment on taking the child into care. This week, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has said that

"It is legitimate to question whether the 'safeguarding' agenda might be giving professionals a mandate to give parents the benefit of the doubt...and not focus on the needs and vulnerability of the child".

Clearly, that should not happen following the Children Act 1989, which placed the protection of the child at the centre of all those agencies' work. Will he give us his views on that issue and assure us that he will review the concerns of the agencies, which have great expertise?

I want to ask the Secretary of State about wider issues around child protection arising from this case and from yesterday's Ofsted report. A moment ago, Michael Gove mentioned thresholds. The Ofsted report states that

"thresholds are sometimes raised by local authorities...in response to workload pressures, staffing shortages and financial resources".

Ofsted first identified that concern three years ago. Will the Secretary of State tell us what has been done, because, given yesterday's report, it seems that not enough has been done? Will he tell us whether he is concerned that the number of children on the child protection register and its successors has fallen by about one third since the early 1990s?

Will the Secretary of State comment on Ofsted's criticism that one third of serious case reviews were inadequate? Will he also comment on why almost all the serious case reviews, including this one, were not completed within the four-month target? This one took well over a year.

The Secretary of State has already commented on the issue of higher court charges, which have increased significantly of late. I have heard his observations on the issue, but will he retain an open mind on it until Lord Laming has completed his inquiry?

Finally, back in 2003, Lord Laming described as breathtaking the unwillingness of those at the top to accept responsibility in relation to the case that he was then considering. This week, the Secretary of State said that, in this particular case, he was

"deeply disturbed...by the failings of practice and management"-[ Hansard, 17 November 2008; Vol. 483, c. 15.]

That is a damning judgment. In the light of it, why is Haringey borough's director of children's services still in her post when she is directly accountable under the Children Act 2004? Is it not clear that the borough needs new management, and that we need a full public inquiry into the issue?

Edward Balls (Secretary of State, Department for Children, Schools and Families; Normanton, Labour) : I will not repeat why I could not hand over the full serious case review, although, again, I looked very hard to see whether I was able to do so. Alongside the Information Commissioner's view, the clear advice that I received was that, if we were to set such a precedent, it would make it much harder in future to go through the full independent process. Although I accept that the executive summary is just that, a summary for public consumption of a much longer, more detailed and, I have to say, more harrowing account, the evidence of the problem and the failure to act is clear to see in it. Our concerns when we read the summary last Tuesday were confirmed by the full and more lengthy confidential report. I spoke to Christine Gilbert from Ofsted this morning to confirm that the inspectors are looking at safeguarding in Haringey, including management practices, and they will do so on the basis of an investigation of individual cases and their wider implications. The issues about the handling of the baby P case and the case file will be looked at by Ofsted, the Healthcare Commission and Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary, as they prepare the wider report. I hope that that gives the hon. Gentleman some assurance.

I have written to Lynne Featherstone today, and I can also assure the hon. Gentleman that there is no question of local managers making the decisions about who the inspectors interview-there is no question of that at all. The Ofsted professionals, and those from the other inspectorates, are highly experienced and highly professional, and I hope that I have reassured him that the report will be thorough and based on the highest standards. It does not do any of us any good at this stage to pre-judge the quality and professionalism of the report, because we may have to make some very difficult decisions on the basis of it, and I want to do so on the basis of the best report.

Of course, the report would have been more thorough if I had asked the inspectors to spend three months preparing it, but I judged that three months was too long to wait, and that two weeks was the shortest period in which they could do the work and the longest period for which I was willing to wait before we made decisions. I could have decided to act in advance of the report and to allocate the blame to particular individuals in a particular way. That was not my responsibility. I judged that it would have been the wrong thing for me to do. The right thing for me to do is to send the inspectors in, to get the detail and then to make the decision, and that is how I have proceeded in this case.

As for the wider issue of public inquiries, when I read the Ofsted inspection reports, talk to Lord Laming and look throughout the country at the consensus that was created around the Every Child Matters report and the reforms that are being put in place, I note that, of course, we have more to do to ensure that the reforms are properly implemented. We may need to reform and change, and that is why Lord Laming is doing his work, but my judgment was that to have waited for a public inquiry before acting, which would have meant waiting many months, or to have thrown the whole system into pause while we waited for the inquiry, would have been the wrong thing to do. It would not have been the right way to ensure that children in Haringey and throughout the country were safe. I do not rule anything out, but people want action, and they want it in the fastest possible time. That is the action that I shall take.

I understand the hon. Gentleman's point and take very seriously the NSPCC's views, but I do not believe that there is any evidence to show that, since 2004, the regime has taken the focus off safeguarding children. In fact, the opposite is true, and July's joint chief inspectors' report, which is mentioned in yesterday's Ofsted annual report, states:

"The report shows that much has changed since 2005 and provides evidence of improvements in children's services and in outcomes for children and young people. In particular, there is a greater emphasis on safeguarding all children".

The evidence is that we have made progress, but we have not made sufficient progress, and that is why we need to do more.

On the issue of resources, the number of social workers working with children has increased by one third in the past 10 years, and we are now investing £73 million to improve our social work work force, because there are issues about recruitment and retention and they need to be addressed. However, importantly, many of those social workers do a brilliant job in very difficult personal circumstances. It is important that we do not tar them with a particular brush when many of them are highly professional.

I think that I have answered the hon. Gentleman's question about the public inquiry and the director of children's services. I was deeply disturbed, and that is why I am determined to act.

. . • Lynne Featherstone (Youth and Equality Spokesperson, Cross-Portfolio and Non-Portfolio Responsibilities; Hornsey & Wood Green, Liberal Democrat) : Obviously, I shall focus on Haringey. I wonder whether the Secretary of State agrees with me, because three things need to be done. First, the atmosphere and the morale of everyone in Haringey has been shot to pieces, but, for there to be a new start, there must be accountability, because if the same faces remain after the report, we will not have that fresh start. Secondly, when the report comes in, I believe that the Secretary of State will take action, but I very much hope that he will put Haringey into special measures to hold the department safe while action is taken. Finally, a public inquiry will be needed, because the Haringey case has raised many issues that are wider than the investigation can possibly examine. Therefore, for all our sakes in Haringey, we need to establish a forum for those people who want to provide information that the inspectors have been unable to collate so far.

Edward Balls: The hon. Lady has experience of and expertise in these matters. For a long time, she has had detailed knowledge of some of the issues that have been raised. However, I hope that she will understand that it is right for me not to rush to a particular judgment and pre-empt the inspectors' report. I shall make decisions about what needs to be done on the basis of that report, and not before it comes out.

More generally, I understand that people want to know why and how. However, it is also important for the thousands of staff working on child protection in Haringey-and for the thousands of children whose safety is at issue-that we make sure that we move forward in Haringey as quickly as possible. I understand that this is a difficult time, but the sooner that we get things moving forward effectively for the future, the better.

• . . Evan Harris (Shadow Minister (Science), Innovation, Universities and Skills; Oxford West & Abingdon, Liberal Democrat) : The Secretary of State said:

"We must never forget that our first duty is to make sure that all children are safe and protected from harm."

He will be aware that there is an additional professional duty on paediatricians to put the child first. Given that an organised campaign is being waged against paediatricians who suspect parental abuse or factitious or induced illness, and who cannot answer back, will he look into what can be done through the Department of Health, and particularly the General Medical Council? Far too many of the GMC's judgments and sanctions are being overturned on appeal, and the damage to the morale of paediatricians and their willingness to engage in child protection work has already been done.

Edward Balls: In this particular case, as the hon. Gentleman will know, the GMC has taken action concerning the paediatrician involved because she did not spot a problem and no action was taken. More generally, there is concern that in this case health professionals spotted clear signs of non-accidental injury abuse, and then there was no action. It is important that we learn lessons from that, and Lord Laming will consider those issues.

On the hon. Gentleman's more general point, my right hon. Friend the Minister for Children, Young People and Families and I have been in discussion with the RCP over the past year, since the change of Department. We need to ensure that health professionals, including GPs, are very much at the centre of our thinking to ensure not only that children are safe but that their well-being is promoted. That is why primary care trusts are involved in the new children's trust arrangements and we will have a lead children's GP in every area.

• . . John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley, Liberal Democrat) : The Secretary of State will be aware that I have been concerned for some time that judgment in such cases has been wrong, and that the wrong children have been taken into care. In Haringey, at the important time for baby P, the authority was trying to reduce the number of children in care to a target figure of 365 by March 2007. That was a consequence of a revenue budget problem, which was why fewer care proceedings were initiated. I have identified a case in Haringey where two children were wrongly in care at the same time. The effect of having the wrong two children in care was that there was no space in care for baby P.

The Government, with all-party support, have improved accountability for process but done little about accountability for judgment, and it is that issue that has caused major problems. Will the Secretary of State, particularly in the light of Ofsted's report yesterday, which indicated that in the 17 months until August there were 282 serious case reviews-

Sylvia Heal (Deputy Speaker): Order. The hon. Gentleman should now bring his question to a conclusion.

Edward Balls: We have discussed that issue with the hon. Gentleman many times, and we see no evidence for what he says. It would be quite wrong to distort judgments made about child safety for revenue or financial reasons.

More generally, I find it quite hard to understand this concept of the "wrong" children being taken into care when other children should have been instead. As far as I am concerned, if a child's safety is at risk and the thresholds are passed, the child should go into care-but only in such cases. In this case, it is clear that the home environment was chaotic and the family concerned did not take its responsibilities seriously in any way, but the idea that that is the only kind of family in which children are at risk or subject to abuse is completely wrong. I am afraid that in every area, at every level of income and in every walk of life, children are, at times, abused and maltreated, sometimes without that abuse having come to the attention of the authorities. Where there is evidence of abuse, action should be taken, whether they are the right or wrong kind of child in the hon. Gentleman's view.

Related Link:

• Lynne Featherstone: We need a fresh start in Haringey