Blog 2023 Malcolm Blair-Robinson

Politicians and the media, when news broke of the Baby P. tragedy, lined up to attack and blame this unfortunate local government officer in a way which was both unjust and unfair. The Court Of Appeal thinks so too, but not the government, nor Ed Balls.

The list of injuries suffered by this toddler, which told of cruelties to a child beyond normal comprehension, not only brought the whole country, even the hardest hearts, close to tears, but it gave rise to a lust for vengeance. It was not enough that the guilty had been punished. There was responsibility to share. What were the authorities doing? Heads must roll! Yet it was not and still is not that clear cut.

The ultimate responsibility for this ghastly episode lies with us all. We have created a society where such things are possible because boundaries have been broken, cohesion lost, personal responsibility emasculated, parenting skills abandoned, human rights taken to the lunatic fringe, all in the flawed belief that process and procedure would somehow make up for the abandonment of the fundamental principles upon which a civilised and benevolent society exists. New Labour was in the vanguard of this headlong rush to disaster; many of the barmy regulations which clog the workings of daily life, are its creation. Nonetheless there is no certainty that the Tories would have done better, because they began, within a programme of de-regulation, a gluttony for centralised control. They invoked the idea that there should be a Minister for everything with the final say in all.

This blog has no certain knowledge whether Ms Shoesmith was good or bad at her job. She has many supporters who worked with her and rated her highly. The Ofsted report commissioned by ED Balls at the time of the furore when news of Baby P’s treatment broke, is critical of much and many, but it contains nothing which would demand the summary dismissal of Ms Shoesmith in such a draconian and conclusive way. Because there exist all these laws, processes and procedures to ensure fair treatment and fair play, the Secretary of State had a duty to ensure that they were invoked to deal with the LGO, whom he wished to hold responsible. By not doing so he has ensured a drama of the fight for justice by a conscientious and loyal public servant, which may yet prove very costly indeed.

At the heart of the matter lies the problem of the child protection process as an added duty of the social workers, the police,  the medical authorities and the adversarial family courts. For nobody is it a sole responsibility, a qualified vocation,  a full time job, a departmental function or a legal discipline.  In my book 2010 A Blueprint For Change I argued for a better way and backed this with a personal campaign for reform. Nobody really listened, though some, including the then PM, Gordon Brown, did take an interest and respond. Of course nothing happened. Until it does we must brace ourselves for more tragedies to tear at our hearts. Doubtless we will assuage our pricking national conscience with new scapegoats. It is the easiest way.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 28th, 2011 at 1:28 pm and is filed under Malcolm Blair Robinson. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.