Balls pledges extra £23 million for frontline social work

Schools Secretary Ed Balls pledged an extra £23 million for frontline social work today as a key Government adviser raised concerns that a shortage of funding could be putting children at risk.

Mr Balls unveiled a fresh package of funding and reforms as he insisted child protection services had made "great" progress in the year since the Baby P tragedy triggered a landmark report by Lord Laming.

He confirmed that in future published executive summaries of Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) would be "fuller" - but stopped short of bowing to demands for the results to be issued in full.

The announcements came ahead of the release of a report today by the Government's independent Chief Adviser for the Safety of Children, Sir Roger Singleton.

The document highlights that funding is an "area of concern", warning a rise in demand has been putting pressure on frontline services, according to the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Sir Roger said: "The excellent work being done by many professionals who protect thousands of children each year is not yet universal.

"Going forward we need to focus on securing adequate resources, learning from serious case reviews, improving professional practice and working more closely with all the relevant parties to keep children safe."

Mr Balls said £23 million was being diverted to a new Local Social Work Improvement Fund, which can be accessed to help frontline social workers. There will also be £15 million in grants to improve local IT systems.

"Today's new funding and reform package will help to relieve pressure on the frontline and let social workers spend more time with children and families," he said.

"It demonstrates our commitment to this important profession, whose contribution to society is often undervalued.

"Children need high quality social workers, with the back-up and support to keep going in their demanding jobs."

He insisted new guidance for local authorities would require them to produce "clear and comprehensive" executive summaries of SCRS, and spell out what action has been taken as a result.

"SCRs are critically important to learning lessons so they're not repeated," Mr Balls said. "Getting them right, and taking clear follow-up action, is vital."

The Tories and some child safety campaigners have complained that SCR summaries are often "inadequate", and demanded that the reviews should be published in full. However, ministers have said they must be kept secret to protect children's anonymity and allow professional to express opinions freely.

Lord Laming's major report, published a year ago, warned that too many authorities had failed to adopt reforms introduced after the horrific murder of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie in February 2000.

He expressed frustration that children continued to be killed by adults even after being identified as in danger of abuse, saying: "The death of a child in these circumstances is a reproach to us all."

Baby P - who can now be named as Peter Connelly - died aged 17 months at the hands of his mother, her lover and their lodger in August 2007 despite being on the at-risk register.

Lord Laming's report made 58 recommendations for how to bring about a "step change" in protecting children from harm, all of which were accepted in full by the Government.

The Government will also announce detailed plans for implementing the 15 recommendations made by its social work taskforce in December to transform the demoralised and overstretched occupation.

They include creating a national college for social work and changing the structure of the profession to keep more experienced staff on the frontline.