Alan Milburn

In his response to Lord Laming’s report, health secretary Alan Milburn reignited the debate over whether senior managers in charge in Haringey at the time of Victoria’s death should be investigated and disciplined, writes Sally Gillen.

As one of a number of immediate steps he outlined, Milburn urged "each employer" to determine if further action should be taken against those involved, including senior managers.

Despite the lack of firm commitments, he did back Laming’s criticism of "the breathtaking unwillingness of some of the most senior people in these agencies to accept that they were in any way accountable for these failures".

Reeling off a list of the 13 agencies who failed to protect Victoria during her 11-months in England, Milburn said "this was not a failing on the part of any one service it was a failing on the part of every service".

Milburn added that, in conjunction with the home secretary David Blunkett, he will ask inspectorates for all agencies involved in child protection to jointly monitor services in that area of north London to ensure they are improving.

He will also write to chief executives in all local authorities and health services to emphasise their duties to vulnerable children and encourage them to set budgets accordingly.

In an attempt to address confusion among professionals highlighted in the report, Milburn pledged to replace within the next three months all existing local guidance with new "shorter, clearer guidance which will reach every one of the one million professional staff dealing with the safeguarding of children".

However, he refused to confirm whether the government would establish a national agency for children and families or implement any of the other changes proposed in the report.

He said that the government would give "a substantive response" to the report as part of the green paper on children at risk, which is due to be published in the spring.