I was already angry about Baby P this morning. Then in the face if this national scandal I then I heard our Prime Minister in the Commons at Question Time plough through his list of bureaucratic excuses and brush offs with the passion of a speak-your-weight machine and I concluded: "This is a man who doesn't care and won't act."
So when David Cameron became angry I empathised. He asked about the acceptability of the review in Haringey being carried out by Sharon Shoesmith, the Council's own Director of Children's Services who had already said that her own service had "worked effectively."
Cameron then added:
"Let us be honest: this is a story about a 17-year-old girl who had no idea how to bring up a child. It is about a boyfriend who could not read but who could beat a child, and it is about a social services department that gets £100 million a year and cannot look after children. That is what this is about.
In the case of failing schools, we take them over. In this department in Haringey, one in four positions for social workers is completely vacant. It does nothing to help struggling local schools that are failing, and another child has been beaten to death. I do not expect an answer now, because we never get one, but will the Prime Minister at least consider whether the time has come to take over this failing department and put someone in charge who can run it properly for our children?"
This is the immediate point. We have children in risk in Haringey and it is Sharon Shoesmith and her team responsible for safeguarding them. They are not fit to exercise that responsibility and it should be removed from them.
