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Safeguarding Children

My Lords, I am sure the noble Baroness will understand that I do not want to prejudge what the noble Lord, Lord Laming, will say in his report. In response to her eloquent explanation of the difficulties of striking such a delicate balance between the challenges faced by social workers every day of their working lives, I should say that it is very much about culture. We need people who are trained, confident and able to articulate their professional judgment in what are often difficult circumstances. Procedures and processes are all about providing a framework to support that, as well as good management and encouraging the right culture within the organisation. Those are the exact issues we have asked the inspectors undertaking the joint area review in Haringey to look at and report on as a matter of urgency. The noble Lord, Lord Laming, will consider whether the entire Every Child Matters agenda has been taken forward and implemented as fully as had been expected at the time.