05 December 2003
Council chief executives this week criticised the government's proposed overhaul of child care across Britain, claiming it was 'too limited' and 'overly focused on local government structures'.
In a belated response to September's green paper on children at risk, Every child matters, the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (Solace) said ministers had not recognised that 'lives of children extend beyond the education and social services departments of their local authority'.
In an attempt to prevent future failures of the care system, such as the case of Victoria Climbié, the government has set out plans to co-ordinate the aspects of local authorities' work that deal with children's safety, such as social services, education and health care.
Labour has also installed a children's minister, Margaret Hodge. The idea is to establish where the buck stops for agencies involved in protecting the vulnerable.
But Tim Byles, chair of Solace's management board, said the society had assessed Labour's plans against an 'acid test': would the proposals save a child's life, improve educational prospects or change social circumstances for the better?
He argued that the proposals were 'incomplete and too narrowly focused to make the necessary impact on the lives of children'. Chief executives also have concerns about the pace of change, and argued that it could create additional risks.
Rather than adhere to new, centrally determined systems,
top-performing councils should be allowed to continue with their own working arrangements for children, Solace said.
Consequently, Solace has proposed incentives to make organisations work better together and called for chief executives to have a more formal role in the appointment of child services directors.
'If the government ignores our proposals there is a serious risk that, having significantly raised expectations, the government will pursue measures which will leave many needs and expectations unmet,' Byles said.
Other bodies that will feel the impact of Labour's proposals have largely welcomed them.
The National Youth Agency said the green paper brought 'renewed commitment and strategic direction' to child protection. But in its response, the NYA warned that 'critical to the successful implementation… will be a major resource commitment to make the sweeping changes'.
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