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Safeguarding Children

My Lords, one of the reasons why I am in this House is to try to make connections between some of these difficult policy matters and the practical realities of what happens on the ground. As many noble Lords know, I spent 25 years working with a group of dysfunctional housing estates. I went on to develop the Bromley by Bow Centre, which arose out of the difficult circumstances of a woman called Jean Vialls, who died at the age of 35 of cancer, leaving two children aged two and 16. She fell through all the cracks of our social and health care provision. One would hope that we had learnt the lessons and moved on, but in many ways we are in the same place. Two years ago I was asked by Christine Gilbert, now the head of Ofsted but at the time the chief executive of Tower Hamlets, to look at St Paul’s Way. Millions of pounds were being invested in a new school, in a new health centre and surgery and in housing, but the key professionals in each of those public sector bodies were not communicating with one another. Perhaps I may share two thoughts with noble Lords that it would be good also to discuss with the Minister outside the Chamber. The first is the issue of culture shift and mindset. In my experience of working with partnerships on the ground, some people in the public sector do not see why they need to work in a more integrated way and still do not understand why they should have to work collaboratively with others outside their particular area.