Local government leaders have defended their handling of child protection cases after condemnation by the mother of Victoria Climbie.
Berthe Climbie, whose daughter died after suffering a catalogue of abuse at the hands of her aunt and the woman’s boyfriend, warned the lessons from the case had still not been learned.
Her comments followed the death of seven-year old Birmingham girl Khyra Ishaq, who is believed to have starved to death.
The Climbie case resulted in the inquiry by Lord Herbert Laming which uncovered a raft of institutional failings by the police, social services, education and health staff.
He called for better working between agencies and made 100 recommendations for change.
But Mrs Climbie said local authorities had still not yet met their obligations: ‘I am still learning that other children are still dying. We see the same sort of tragedies here as the things that happened to the little one. They gave their word, but they did not live up to their responsibilities.’
Her comments drew a defence from David Rogers, Chairman of theLocal Government Association’s Community and Wellbeing Board: ‘Lord Laming rightly identified that schools, the NHS, police and local government must work together better and keep better records so that everyone can do their utmost to prevent any more unnecessary deaths. Front line staff work tirelessly every day to protect the most vulnerable in society from harm.
‘The system is not perfect but the lessons learnt from Victoria’s death in Lord Laming’s report have been widely put into place. However, no one who works in child protection is complacent and local government, along with the police, schools and hospitals, will continue to improve and refine the way in which they help children to reduce the chances of another appalling death.’
