Child Protection: Royal Commission Proposal (Hansard, 30 October 1997)

§ Baroness Jay of Paddington

We do not believe that a Royal Commission on child protection is required at present. The Government are firmly committed to high quality child protection services and research shows that the child protection system generally works effectively in dealing with serious cases of abuse. However, we believe that more emphasis needs to be given to meeting the needs of the most deprived children and their families, and to intervening at an earlier stage to support families experiencing difficulties. The welfare of children needs to be placed at the centre of the work of all agencies involved—social services, health, education, the voluntary sector, police, probation and the courts—and that services are directed to support those children and families whose needs are greatest. We are also firmly committed to breaking down the barriers which sometimes seem to have existed in the past between the work of agencies and between the work of Government departments. The National Commission of Inquiry into the Prevention of Child Abuse last year produced a wide-ranging and thought provoking report and we are giving careful consideration to its recommendations. In the light of these, and other work taken forward by the Department of Health, we are in the process of developing a number of strategies to ensure that children are protected from all forms of abuse.