Another review was ordered on Friday into social services in Kirklees, northern England, after Karen Matthews was convicted of a plot to kidnap her daughter, Shannon, and claim a large newspaper reward for the girl's recovery. -- PHOTO: AFP
LONDON - BRITAIN'S social services face a major overhaul in the wake of the cases of Baby P and Shannon Matthews, Children's Secretary Ed Balls said on Sunday.
Mr Balls told two Sunday newspapers the changes would be 'controversial' but necessary to help prevent further cases of child abuse and neglect.
'The tragic death of Baby P has led to soul searching throughout the country,' Mr Balls wrote in the News of the World.
'We have seen again this week in the Shannon Matthews case that some parents are prepared to do truly terrible things to their children - and then go to extraordinary lengths to lie and deceive other adults including police and social workers.'
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Balls said a new government task force would be set up to conduct a full review of social services, looking in particular at leadership, improving quality, training and recruitment.
'This is not going to be straightforward. It's going to be controversial,' Balls said. 'It will mean a change in the way we teach social work and train social workers.'
The Sunday Telegraph also said the changes would also mean the best social workers would be paid more to work in 'tough frontline areas'.
The overhaul comes after Haringey social services in north London were heavily criticised in a damning report into the death of the Baby P, a 17-month-old who suffered horrific abuse at the hands of his mother, her boyfriend and her lodger.
Another review was ordered on Friday into social services in Kirklees, northern England, after Karen Matthews was convicted of a plot to kidnap her daughter, Shannon, and claim a large newspaper reward for the girl's recovery.
Prosecutors said the West Yorkshire schoolgirl was drugged and probably kept captive on a leash during her incarceration as Karen Matthews and Michael Donovan, the uncle of her then boyfriend, plotted to collect the 50,000-pound (S$112,000) reward.
Mr Balls said in the News of the World that these cases showed 'that social workers do an incredibly tough job in difficult circumstances", and they now needed better training, more support and, ultimately, more respect.
'We need to get the brightest and the best people into social work and make sure that front line workers are properly supported by top quality managers who also get the training they need,' he said.
'We must now transform the training and standing of social workers in our country.' -- REUTERS
