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Dept of Health

Answer

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to (a) establish multi- agency safeguarding teams including social workers, health professionals, police and other child professionals, (b) strengthen area child protection committees by increasing their resources and (c) establish a child safeguarding board to provide greater protection for children. [79688] Jacqui Smith: [holding answer 5 November 2002]: Area child protection committee (ACPC) expenditure and administrative policy support is a matter for local agreement. As a multi-agency forum, the ACPC should be supported in its work by its main constituent agencies, reflecting the investment of each agency in activities which are of benefit to all, in particular inter- agency training. The Joint Chief Inspectors' report Safeguarding Children, published on 14 October 2002, contains a recommendation that the Department should review the current arrangements for ACPCs to determine whether they should be established on a statutory basis to ensure adequate accountability, authority and funding. The Government has welcomed the publication of this report. The Government recognises that there is still more to be done to ensure that the high standards of child protection are applied in every case. That is why it commissioned the Joint Chief Inspectors' report. It is also why my right hon. Friends, the Secretary of State for Health and the Home Secretary set up the statutory Inquiry, chaired by Lord Laming, into the circumstances leading up to, and surrounding, the death of Victoria Climbie«. The issues raised by Victoria's case are wide-ranging, in terms of both policy and practice, and it is therefore important that we do not do anything that would pre-empt the outcome of the Inquiry. The recommendations of the Joint Chief Inspectors' report and those of the Victoria Climbie« Inquiry will provide us with an authoritative basis for any reforms to child protection that may need to be made, and if radical reform is necessary we will implement it. The Government will respond to both reports after it has carefully considered them.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

392 c423W;392 c435W; 79688

Session

2001-02

Subjects

Children Abuse Cooperation Finance Health professions Protection Police Social workers Child protection committees

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk