§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps have been taken since 1997 to develop preventive services to identify children at risk of abuse. [81064]
§ Jacqui SmithFollowing the publication of the Cross Cutting Review of Children at Risk for the 2002 Spending Review, the Government recently announced the next steps in developing preventive approaches in services for children and families. Local authorities, the health service, the police and key criminal justice agencies will, for next year, agree local preventive strategies which will build on existing initiatives such as Sure Start, the Children's Fund, Connexions and youth offending teams. The development of local strategies will be supported by Government offices and the inspectorates who, where necessary, will work with the local partners on ensuring that an effective strategy is in place.
The Government have also announced in the Treasury White Paper on the Spending Review published in July 2002, their intention to pilot new organisational models for managing children's services known as children's trusts. This work will be complemented by the Green Paper on Children at Risk announced by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary in July 2002.
408W40 per cent., and if possible, by 50 per cent, of the number of looked after children adopted by 2004–05 from a baseline of 2,700 in 1999–2000.