Kirklees Council probe into child protection after Baby P

Dec 4 2008 by Katie Campling, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

CHILD protection in Kirklees is to be examined following the national outrage surrounding the Baby P case.

Two senior Kirklees councillors will head up a review of Kirklees Council’s processes and working practices for child protection following the statement in Parliament this week by Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls.

Inspectors were sent into Haringey Council in London last month after the trial of those responsible for 17-month-old Baby P’s brutal death following horrific abuse.

The release of their report on Tuesday led to two senior councillors resigning, three managers being suspended and three social workers being taken off child protection duties.

The inspectors identified a string of “serious concerns” about Haringey’s child protection services which they described as “inadequate”.

The woman in charge of child protection, Sharon Shoesmith, was suspended on full pay by Mr Balls and replaced.