Reforms put child protection in danger, ministers warned
More children risk dying of abuse or neglect under government reforms to social services, the architect of previous reforms to child protection has warned.
Eileen Munro, who led an overhaul of social services after the Baby P scandal more than a decade ago, accused ministers of rushing through cost-cutting reforms, which she said could end in tragedy.
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which is going through the Lords, aims to move towards a more preventative model of child protection with input from a range of public services including education.
In a letter to The Times, however, Munro said this risked dismantling vital safeguards and having 'dangerous, unpredictable consequences' as she urged ministers to pause reforms.
'Particularly alarming is the shift of child protection responsibilities
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
10 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Whitehall launches hunt for mole who leaked Hermer's Iran advice
The Government has launched an official hunt for the Whitehall mole who leaked Lord Hermer's legal advice on Iran. The Cabinet Office's Propriety and Ethics Team (PET) has been instructed to carry out an official leak inquiry after it was reported that the Attorney General did not believe the UK should join Israeli strikes on Iran. On Wednesday The Spectator said Lord Hermer had told Downing Street that he had ' concerns about the UK playing any role in this except for defending our allies'. The Telegraph understands the advice was given after Israel's first attack on Iranian nuclear facilities last Thursday, although it was not reported for another six days. Lord Hermer was concerned that the UK might breach international law if it joined Israel in striking Iran directly. The United Nations Charter says that countries can only launch an attack in self-defence, to defend an ally, or if the UN Security Council passes a resolution authorising military action. The leak has placed Lord Hermer in a difficult position because he is not allowed to discuss the content of his advice and Downing Street is keen to avoid any public discussion of its plans in the Middle East. The disclosure came as Donald Trump was considering sending an American 'bunker buster' bomb into Iran to destroy a nuclear fuel enrichment facility in northwestern Iran. In response, No 10 urged world leaders to keep 'cool heads' and said that it maintained a policy of 'de-escalation'. The UK has not participated in any offensive action against Iran, nor defended Israel, since the latest round of the conflict began. While it is commonplace for the Attorney General, the government's chief law officer, to give an opinion on defence policy as ministers draw up their response to a crisis, the advice must be kept a secret. The Ministerial Code, the official handbook for serving in government says that 'the fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised, and the content of their advice, must not be disclosed outside government without their authority'. The Cabinet Office's team will now attempt to find the leaker, who may be one of the officials or ministers who attended official meetings about the Middle East conflict on Thursday or Friday last week. Lord Hermer's legal advice has previously attracted criticism after sources said he was acting as a 'freeze on government' by trying to block various government policies on legal grounds. He has also been criticised for controversial clients he represented while working as a barrister, including the alleged terrorist Abu Zubaydah and Gerry Adams. The Labour peer is a former human rights lawyer and long-time friend of Sir Keir Starmer. His position on the Israel-Iran conflict has since been backed by Left-wing Labour MPs, including Dame Emily Thornberry, the former shadow attorney general and chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. She said on Thursday that 'any of those justifications' for war in the UN Charter do not apply because the UK is 'not under threat ourselves,' an air strike would not be defensive and there is no Security Council resolution. Downing Street, the Cabinet Office and the Attorney General's Office declined to comment.
Telegraph
28 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Stephen Fry says JK Rowling's been ‘radicalised'. I've got just one question for him
Sir Stephen Fry, the renowned psychoanalyst, says he believes that JK Rowling 'has been radicalised'. I must say that I for one was somewhat taken aback by this diagnosis. Because, if Ms Rowling has indeed been 'radicalised', that means she harbours beliefs that are 'radical'. In which case, would Sir Stephen be so kind as to tell us which of her beliefs he has in mind? Take, for example, Ms Rowling's belief that women don't have testicles. Or her belief that men can't give birth. Is either of those beliefs radical? Extreme? Wildly at variance with established medical science? Perhaps he's thinking of her belief that biological males should not be entitled to enter the female changing room at their local swimming pool and strip naked in front of small girls. Or her belief that confused children should not be pumped with drugs designed to prevent them from going through a normal, healthy puberty. Or her belief that we should not grant a convicted rapist his wish to be placed in a jail full of women merely because he's suddenly taken to sporting a blonde wig and pink leggings. Does Sir Stephen consider those beliefs to be radical? I do hope he'll let us know. It's urgent. Otherwise, there's a serious risk that innocent members of the public will become radicalised, too. In the meantime, I'm anxious to ascertain how exactly Ms Rowling came to fall for the outlandish notion that women are female and men are male. Who radicalised her? Sir Stephen reckons it was 'Terfs' (i.e., trans-exclusionary radical feminists). But I wonder if she was brainwashed at an early age – by, say, an O-level biology teacher. Or perhaps some appallingly irresponsible school librarian gave her access to a dictionary. Whatever the source of her indoctrination, I dread to think what crazed ideological nonsense this dangerous woman will pollute our children's minds with next. The Earth is round? Water is wet? Members of the family Ursidae typically defecate in arboreal environs? Then again, I suppose there is an alternative way to look at this story. Which is that the beliefs Ms Rowling espouses have been completely mainstream since the dawn of humanity – and that it is, in fact, her opponents who have been 'radicalised'. Just a thought. Lost in translation A 29-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, we learnt this week, attempted to defend his rape of a 15-year-old Scottish girl by claiming that he had not been 'educated' about the 'significant cultural differences' between Afghanistan and Britain. As it turned out, the court didn't buy this excuse. Which is a relief. After all, doesn't his argument imply that Britain was somehow at fault, for failing to 'educate' him about these 'differences' when he arrived? God only knows what he thinks the authorities should have said, the day his dinghy washed up here in 2023. 'Good afternoon, sir, and welcome to our country! Please do make yourself at home. But, if you don't mind, we'd just like to help you fit in by giving you a quick introduction to a few traditional British customs. 'Number one: we're completely obsessed with talking about the weather! Number two: we drink endless cups of tea! Number three: we all absolutely love the adorable adventures of Paddington bear! 'Oh, and number four: we generally tend to frown on grown men who rape children in the street. 'We appreciate, sir, that as a newcomer you may find this a touch puzzling. But then, all cultures have their distinctive little quirks and foibles, don't they? And 'not sexually assaulting terrified pubescent girls' just happens to be one of ours. So we thought we'd better give you a little heads-up, to save you from making a rather embarrassing faux pas! 'Of course, there are some people in our country who have been known to disregard the above convention. Late BBC disc jockeys, for example, and Pakistani grooming gangs. The feeling among the wider British public, though, is that it's still something of a no-no, and best avoided. After all, you can't be certain that our police, social workers and politicians will cover it up for you! I mean, they might, but it's not guaranteed. 'Anyway, thanks for listening, sir, and have a lovely new life! The hotel's this way, we'll just come and check you in.' A question of Pride LGBT Pride is about to enter its fourth week. Best wishes to all who are still celebrating. I hope no one will be offended, however, if I respectfully ask why this event now has to last for an entire month. It does feel like quite a long time. Especially when you compare the lengths of certain other annual events. For example, we have Pride month – but Remembrance fortnight. So we now spend twice as long waving rainbow flags as we do honouring those who died defending us. There's nothing hateful about suggesting that Pride has started to drag on a bit. When people complain about shops putting their festive decorations up in September, it doesn't mean they hate Christmas. It just means they think Christmas should last 12 days, not four months. Mind you, there are now so many different groups under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella, I suppose it takes about a month just to list them all.
Daily Record
32 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Fettes College may cut jobs after Government's VAT decision
The private school in Edinburgh said it needs to run its operations "as efficiently as possible". Jobs at a prestigious Scots private school may be lost as it looks to cut costs following the UK Government's introduction of VAT on school fees. Fettes College in Edinburgh said the decision was one of the reasons it took the 'difficult' decision to 'right size our staffing model'. The Scotsman reported that the school – attended by former prime minister Tony Blair – has opened a consultation process for both teaching and operational staff in order to reduce numbers. The most recent accounts show 751 students in August 2024, down from 780 the previous year. academic year, inclusive of VAT. The Labour government imposed VAT on private education and boarding fees, effective from January 1. Ministers argue that removing the VAT exemption will benefit the wider education sector, including the 94% of pupils who attend state schools. A spokesman for Fettes College said the sector is facing a 'tough time' and appealed for privacy for the staff involved. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. The spokesman said: 'Various factors have conspired to increase costs on all organisations and schools are not immune, particularly with the recent imposition of VAT on school fees and rise in national insurance contributions. 'Despite being financially very well managed with a strong student roll, these factors are having an impact on our costs and numbers, and we are obliged to run our operations as efficiently as possible. 'These headwinds obviously affect our families too and our parents need to be certain that we are taking the necessary decisions to run the school efficiently and to use their money effectively. 'A consultation process began in May to right size our staffing model. This difficult decision may result in some redundancies. 'We will continue to provide the highest standard of educational experience, delivering our innovative vision for the school and maintaining our position as a leader in the sector.'
