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We asked whether Lord Laming's proposals, if implemented by the government, would prevent more children dying from abuse because of failings by the agencies.

These are the reponses we received:

"We are the witnesses to child abuse. There is a system in which we are marginalised, isolated, disbelieved and insulted. We often see, the children that we love, further abused under the noses of the authorities. We are the people who know the children well: ‘A REAL VOICE’ for the children.
The child protection people cannot afford to delete our voice. Now is the time to make it possible for us to be heard.

The child protection system must be made, and seen to be ‘witness friendly’, ‘FOR THE SAKE OF THE CHILDREN’"

Patricia Benstead
London

"The single most important change would be to reintroduce specialist social workers for children. These should be selected from those who are interested and found suitable, having shown ability and aptitude as generic workers. All the training and liaison arrangements in the world are no use if the people on the ground are unsuited by temperament or ability. As with juvenile magistrates, who have to meet more stringent requirements than those for adults, so with social workers."

Jacqueline Castles

"Lord Laming's report is very thorough and damming, and his recommendations need to be applauded.Unfortunately, I do not think that it will make a long term difference to the work of the agencies involved, until they start to work in partnership with each other and start to share information and concerns. For years this has been social services' downfall as they have always had the tendency to 'hold on to information'.
How many children have to be abused/killed before preventative measures are put into practice?
Agencies continually fail our children e.g.Jasmine Beckford. After each enquiry, we hear the same rhetoric "It must not happen again". But it keeps on happening."

Volda C.Rayside

"Many submissions to the Laming Inquiry were excluded, and I feel that issues surrounding what impacts on grassroots service delivery were ignored, or minimised at best. There was insufficient input from first line practitioners and managers. How much time did the Inquiry team actually spend going out and seeing what it is like to actually deal with some of the day-to-day situations social workers, police officers, health visitors, hospital doctors have to deal with?
 
There are fundamental operational difficulties such as how to provide an effective service with a continuing national shortage of social workers - and especially experienced social workers. Issues of pay and morale are equally important. It is all well and good the inquiry recommending that investigations should be undertaken by qualified and experienced workers when, in reality, they are just not around.
 
Increasingly due to performance indicators (PI's) being set, extra time and attention go on ensuring that these PI's are met (i.e. statutory visiting, reviews, reduction of moves etc) without looking equally carefully at the QUALITY of the work being undertaken - we are becoming over-procedural/mechanistic at the risk of having any time left to undertake direct, creative and positive social work. I have worked so far this week over 52 hours, and will be doing further paperwork at home this weekend.

 
At this time of year especially many authorities are facing spending restrictions/ freezes - how does the resource limitation affect good practice? How can we do the best for children and young people in a climate where budget-led considerations seems to win over needs-led ones? The billions to go to war against Iraq perhaps lead to a cynical view as to whether there is any REAL will to positively help the most vulnerable of our own citizens.
 
I was pleased to see that senior managers in all agencies did, for once, not get away with their 'It's nothing to do with me Guv' responses. Perhaps it is past the time that some of them returned to undertake some real 'coal face' work and see what is now like - many have been out of direct practice for very many years - and some got where they are today because they weren't that good anyway!
 
'Whistleblowing' seems a good idea, but you only have to look at some of the consequences experienced by those brave souls who tried it to realise that perhaps you need to accept that your career may be ended despite your best and most honest endeavours. My experience leads me to advise you to be extremely cautious - the Laming Inquiry needed to look at how SAFELY people can raise issues and concerns with a GUARANTEE of no reprisals.
 
Within social work practitioners are significantly over-burdened and unless and until there is a genuine child-centred determination from central government downwards to address this it is almost as certain as night follows day that further tragedies will occur. They have continued to do so over the past 30 years despite inquiry after inquiry, and despite procedure after orocedure, and despite SSI inspection after SSI inspection.
 
Most of us know what constitutes good, safe and effective practice but there are too few of us, and we are too overworked. "
 
Philip J Measures

For all the background on the Climbie case click here

To read Lord Laming's report click here