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Rarely has a government attempted to roll out a complex policy as rapidly as the Every Child Matters reforms. These have gone from green paper to legislation in little over two years, and have an implementation timetable that must have managers gasping for breath.
It is important that some attempt is made to look at the reforms as a whole. And the first significant stab at this is the recent report from the House of Commons education and skills select committee.

Although press reports have focused on the MPs' concerns about the adequacy of funding to make the changes a reality, the general tone of the report is that of "critical friend".

The committee acknowledges that the government deserves substantial praise for embarking on such an ambitious programme of reform, and commends the commitment shown by those with responsibility for implementing the changes.

But it identifies several dilemmas that need to be addressed. One of the key messages is about the tension between transformational change - the avowed strategy of Every Child Matters - and evidence-based policy and practice.

The government has set up pilot evaluations of several key aspects of the changes, notably the children's databases, children's trusts and the longer standing Sure Start programmes. But there is an apparent reluctance on the part of government to wait for findings from these pilots before pressing ahead with rolling out change, the MPs warn.

A second broad area of difficulty is the rhetoric and reality of partnership and integration. The success of the reforms will hinge upon the quality of joint working, and to this end the Children Act 2004 imposes a "duty to co-operate" upon strategic bodies such as local authorities and primary care trusts.

But no such obligation is placed upon providers like schools and GPs, even though it is at this level that funding will increasingly be located. This problem is exacerbated where schools and GPs have priorities other than the social inclusion agenda of Every Child Matters, such as in the case of the school standards agenda within individual schools.

Understandably, the committee has called for a review of these exemptions from the duty to co-operate.

Although the committee's report touches upon every aspect of the children's services changes, one message is loud and clear: the devil will be in the detail.

All of the evidence to the committee's Every Child Matters inquiry backed the general thrust of change. But there is always a risk of ideas unravelling once it is time to put them into practice.

As the implementation process gathers even more pace throughout 2005, it will be crucial to ensure that this groundswell of support is not dissipated as a result of hasty and under-funded implementation.

• House of Commons education and skills select committee, ninth report, Every Child Matters. HC 40-I. London: The Stationery Office, 2005.

BOXTEXT: <279C>Bob Hudson is visiting professor of partnership studies at the School of Applied Social Sciences, University of Durham. He is a specialist adviser to the Commons education and skills select committee.