If we are to prevent further shocking child abuse cases (PM: jail those who ignore child abuse, 3 March), it is critical that local authorities are able to recruit and retain competent and committed social workers. This area of work is highly stressful, extremely difficult and sometimes dangerous. Resources have been reduced by huge cuts in local government funding, and the workload is becoming even more onerous because of greatly increased numbers of children with child protection plans following the Baby P case. In that case social workers were vilified in the press – triggered by an ill-informed and intemperate outburst at prime minister’s questions by David Cameron as leader of the opposition. Now he wants to threaten them with jail.
In his book The Story of Baby P: Setting the Record Straight, Professor Ray Jones identifies the crisis of recruitment and retention of social workers following that case. It is difficult to imagine why anyone, however committed to safeguarding children, would enter the profession in these circumstances. Cameron’s latest vote-grabbing gambit will exacerbate the problem and place more children at risk.
Paul Dennehy
Enfield, Middlesex
• Cameron’s words sound more like a headline-grabbing stunt than a solution to the problem. Responsibility for failings in public services lies squarely with the government and secretaries of state, but David Cameron and his advisers appear to think they have hit upon a wheeze to deflect criticism on to the people who work in public services and local government.
The strategy is to inspect or inquire and find individual professional scapegoats. We see this with the NHS. Now it is those professionals working in child protection who are bullied with a threat of five years in prison for the failings of government to provide the resources for protecting and caring for some very vulnerable and damaged young people.
The provision is fine, implies Cameron, it’s the people who are the problem. Blaming and crushing the many caring people who struggle to make a broken sector work, or kicking out local councillors, will not improve provision and support for challenging, exploited and vulnerable children and young people.
Dr Robin Richmond
Bromyard, Herefordshire
• The prime minister is quoted as saying: “Professionals who fail to protect children will be held properly accountable and council bosses who preside over such catastrophic failure will not see rewards for that failure.” His ire seems to be aimed at teachers, social workers, police and local authority staff and councillors. Sadly, he fails to mention politicians. In particular, those politicians who fail to ensure sufficient funding for hard-pressed local services, while diverting resources to help those in the higher tax bands and to take forward things such as vanity rail projects.
Perhaps we would all think a little more of his initiative if he had said: “Politicians who fail to provide sufficient resources to protect children will be held properly accountable and prime ministers and chancellors of the exchequer who preside over such catastrophic failure will not see rewards for that failure.”
Leslie Beaumont
Croston, Lancashire
• David Cameron’s plan to impose a prison term on those who “turn a blind eye” and ignore the victims of abuse is surely a cynical ruse. Apart from the huge cost of bringing such offenders to court and keeping them in jail for years, it will only encourage more attempts to cover up and pass the buck, and will discourage many more from entering the caring professions.
Ruth Lamdin
Marlborough, Wiltshire
• With a grossly expensive, dangerously overcrowded and understaffed prison service, what on Earth is Cameron doing threatening teachers and social workers with prison? If he proceeds with this folly, will he tell us which offences he will take off the list requiring a prison sentence, as we are often told that there are many people in prison who should not be there? Or is he still pursuing the Tory mantra that “prison works”?
David Selby
Winchester
• To my mind, child abuse includes the abuse that is generated every time a benefit to which families are entitled is cancelled for weeks at a time because of a minor breach of the regulations. If that kind of abuse is included, I’m all for the jail sentences, and the first on my hitlist would be Iain Duncan Smith, followed closely by the rest of the cabinet.
Dr KJ Vines
Yelverton, Devon
• Who will run the country when all our politicians are behind bars for ignoring the lack of investment in social services to deal with child abuse?
Clare Richardson
Sheffield
