Baby P report press conference as it happened
Monday, 01 Dec 2008 21:00
"Devastating" Baby P report published
Read line-by-line updates on the government's response to the "devastating" independent review into the death of Baby P.
The 17-month-old baby boy died after receiving sustained abuse at the hands of his mother, her boyfriend and their lodger in Haringey last August.
Earlier today the government responded to the review, which will not be made public.
inthenews.co.uk attended the press conference with children's secretary Ed Balls and children's minister Beverley Hughes and published live updates online<.
(All times GMT)
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14:47: "This is a tough, decisive and very impressive report," Ed Balls says as the press conference draws to a close.
14:43: Sharon Shoesmith was not sacked, Ed Balls says, rather "removed from her post". "Intervention and direction" is the right way forward for Haringey. It is for Haringey to determine the legal and employment consequences of Ms Shoesmith's exit.
He does not have the power to do that, but he does have the power to remove a public official from office when they are deemed unfit to carry out their duties.
14:39: Ed Balls is asked on the decision not to opt for a public inquiry. He says the decision to repeat the serious case review is unprecedented and the right decision.
"We can learn lessons, have accountability, have management change and keep children safe. But a full-scale, backward-looking inquiry would tell us little that we don't already know and hold up the culture that keeps children safe that we need in Haringey."
People want 'action, not reports', Mr Balls adds.
14:36: Lord Laming, who conducted the
Victoria Climbie review, is defended by Ed Balls as the "right person to advise us on the next steps forward".
14:33: Questions are asked why Sharon Shoesmith failed to offer her resignation as the leader of her council and cabinet member for children did. Ed Balls says he can offer no answer. "I have acted to remove the director of children services [Ms Shoesmith] from her post."
14:28: Ed Balls says he would be "astonished" if elected Haringey members approved a payoff for any of the councillors leaving as a result of today's report.
14:27: Ed Balls: "There is nothing that I can do to undo the terrible suffering that was inflicted on Baby P during his short life.
"The sad fact that inspectors make clear in their report is that Baby P was subject to a child protection plan from December 2006 following concerns he had been suffering from abuse and neglect. He was still subject to this plan when he died [August 2007].
"This is the most serious failing of all. We will not rest until the very best child protection arrangements are in place in Haringey and across the country."
14:23: Ed Balls says a public inquiry would harm children in Haringey. Graham Badman is being appointed to chair a local safeguarding board instead.
14:21: Ed Balls: There is still much work to do to ensure these reforms are being implemented in every area." Serious case reviews are now going to be independently chaired. All serious case reviews deemed to be inadequate are going to be subject to scrutiny by an independent panel. Unannounced inspection visits from Ofsted will now take place in each area of the country. Mr Balls says he has written to councils across the country, including a copy of the Haringey report, to ensure they are meeting the expected standard.
14:19: The home secretary is appointing the Healthcare Commission to determine whether child protection services across the country are performing as they should be. Ed Balls says he expects all local authorities and police forces to cooperate.
14:17: Ed Balls expects monthly assessments from John Coughlan over progress at Haringey. He says if he is not satisfied he will intervene again. But he wants to go further today. "It is just unacceptable that the serious case review into the death of Baby P was found to be inadequate.
"I am directing Haringey council to appoint a new independent chair of its local children board."
A new serious case review has been ordered, Mr Balls adds.
14:15: The investigators' assessment is "devastating", Ed Balls says. He reveals a new leadership structure is being installed, with the council's director of children's services Sharon Shoesmith being sacked. John Coughlan, the author of the joint report and director of children's services in Hampshire, is being appointed in the interim.
14:12: "A damning judgment," is Ed Balls' summary of the report. The council's children's care provision needs "urgent and sustained attention". It says agencies were working in isolation and notes a "catalogue of errors".
The inspectors also highlight a failure to talk to directly to children at risk, and where children were not seen alone. There was little evidence of management follow-up, meaning children were not properly heard and could not speak for themselves.
The serious case review into Baby P's death was inadequate, according to Ofsted, Mr Balls said.
14:11: The children's secretary says he and the children's minister received the report last night, the final version arriving this morning. Copies of the report and his response are being handed to ministers, opposition spokespeople, local MPs and the council. Mr Balls met with senior councillors earlier this morning, leading to the resignations of George Meehan and Liz Santry.
14:09: Ed Balls and Beverley Hughes take their seats. "The whole nation was shocked and moved by the tragic death of Baby P," Mr Balls says.
He speaks of public anger at no one stepping in to prevent the outset but says people on the frontline of children's services to a difficult job, making difficult decisions. But despite being "unsung heroes" they must be held accountable.
13:45: Moments before the press conference begins we have our first signs of the "accountability" that Ed Balls was seeking.
Haringey council leader George Meehan has resigned, as has the council cabinet member for children and young people, Liz Santry.
12:50: Lynne Featherstone, the Liberal Democratic MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, says today's report will be "hard-hitting".
"We can have no new start, nor rebuild confidence in Haringey whilst those who were in command and on whose watch Baby P died are still in place. Nor should there be any payoff for failure," Ms Featherstone wrote on her blog.
12:00: The urgent review, ordered two weeks ago, has been handed to Ed Balls.
"Inspectors have given the report to Ed Balls. Ministers are considering what action to take," a spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
11:30: Sharon Shoesmith, the director of children's services in Haringey, reportedly did not turn up to work today according to photographers at the council's headquarters.
As well as Ms Shoesmith, councillor Liz Santry is among those whose jobs are under pressure in light of today's review.
11:00: An independent report into the circumstances which led to the death of Baby P is expected to be handed to ministers later.
Before his death the infant had been placed on the child protection register and seen by health professionals some 60 times, including by a doctor two days before his death who failed to notice the baby's broken back.
The urgent review into child protection services in Haringey was ordered by children's secretary Ed Balls last month.
Ministers were handed the report from Ofsted, the Healthcare Commission, and the chief inspector of constabulary earlier today.
It is not yet clear whether the report will be made available to the public, but Mr Balls and children's minister Beverly Hughes are holding a press conference in London at 14:00 BST.
The three convicted of Baby P's death are due to be sentenced next spring.