Downing Street Says » Child Protection

» Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Child Protection

Asked for more details of the update given by Ed Balls, the PMS said it was really a summary of the events of the last week and the action that the Government had announced in recent days.

Asked if there was any sense of surprise around the Cabinet table that no one had resigned over the Baby P case, the PMS said that the sense in Cabinet was that it was right that we examined exactly what had happened in this very tragic case. Ed Balls had sent in the inspectors to Haringey and they were expected to report back by the 1st December. Before we took any further action it was important that we looked at what the inspectors had to say. There was support for the general approach that Ed Balls and the Children s Minister were taking on this.

Asked if there was a sense of outrage around the Cabinet table, the PMS said that everybody and that included the whole of the Cabinet was outraged by what had happened in this case and by the terrible way this child had been treated. There was no ambiguity about that.

Put that the Government did not have the power to sack people in this instance, the PMS said that people should check the exact legal standing with the department.

Put that Ed Balls had the power to send in a new management team to take over Haringey Social Services and was that something the Prime Minister would support, the PMS said that what the Prime Minister believed was that it was important that this issue was dealt with as a matter of great urgency and that was why Ed Balls had sent in a team of inspectors to examine the situation urgently in Haringey. They would be reporting back by the 1st December. It was at that point that we would then decide what the next steps were.

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