Friday 13 March 2009

“I’ve Got A Great Idea…!”

Lord Laming, the independent expert asked to review child protection in the wake of Baby P's violent death in Haringey, north London, in 2007, will today unveil his recommendations for how to prevent more such killings.
Sounds like a plan – get the guy in who drafted the last set of recommendations (that some of them failed to follow) and let him draft some more.

After all, at least that can’t make things worse, right?

Oh. Wait:
Lord Laming, a former chief inspector of social services, established the current framework for social care with his report into the abusive death of Victoria Climbié in 2000.

As a result of that report, councils have merged their social services and education departments into single divisions led by a single director.

That structure will not be changed after the new Laming review, but ministers now accept that it has meant that some combined children's services departments are being run by directors who have made their career in one field and have little experience of the other.
Whoops!

Never mind, can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs children, can we…?
It will also be confirmed that from next month, councils' child protection departments will face unannounced surprise inspections by Ofsted, which monitors children's services in councils.
You mean, they weren’t doing this before?

I despair…

8 comments:

Letters From A Tory said...

Of course they weren't doing this before. They have only just figured out in teaching that giving schools several weeks / months of notice before the inspectors turn up gives them plenty of time to cover their tracks.

Mark Wadsworth said...

Interestin stat's on the BBC yesterday, in the UK on average 0.9 children per 100,000 are killed by parents/carers each year, as against 0.8 in Germany or 1.4 in the US.

So the numbers are not only infinitessimally small, but given the size of our Underclass relative to Germany's, there doesn't seem to be that much to worry about.

Mark Wadsworth said...

WV: chant

Anonymous said...

Let me take a wild guess:

The solution will be "give us more money".

Oldrightie said...

The solution will be "give us more money".
As well as more overseers. can't you see soon the following advert in The Guardian?

"Post The Laming report on child welfare a senior post is to become available to coordinate social care agencies, parents and other relevant bodies. If you are (a Labour supporter) a caring, experienced (jobsworth) and pro-active individual desperate to become part of an exciting new organisation subordinate only to the wishes of The Government, apply now. Salary circa £175,000 per annum less a percentage donation to The labour Party."

JuliaM said...

"..given the size of our Underclass relative to Germany's, there doesn't seem to be that much to worry about."

Indeed!

"Let me take a wild guess:

The solution will be "give us more money"."


Well, it usually is. But it's a commodity we're fast running out of...

"...can't you see soon the following advert in The Guardian?"

Oh, yes. Funny, the recession never seems to affect that particular jobs market, does it?

said...

What was it Tacitus said about lands and laws on the books?

Dr Evil said...

The women aren't interested in the kid and the scvrounging losers blokes they take up with aren't intersted either. The way to reduce child abuse is to abolish child benefit and don't give single teenage mothers a house. If you made the fuckers who created the baby look after it and their parents pay for it this teenage pregnancy malarky would fall like a stone and consequently children would be born to mothers who actually wanted a child to love, not as a meal ticket.