Petition to: introduce effective reforms

Petition to:

1) introduce effective reforms to better detect and tackle child abuse and neglect
This petition is now closed, as its deadline has passed.
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to
1) introduce effective reforms to better detect & tackle child abuse & neglect
2) abolish parole & increase all minimum & maximum sentences for crimes relating to child abuse & neglect and introduce a maximum tariff of Life for conviction of the death of a child through abuse or neglect
3) conduct full public inquiries into all councils that repeatedly fail in their duty to protect at risk children. More details

Submitted by Dee Murrell – Deadline to sign up by: 02 March 2010 – Signatures: 1,825
More details from petition creator

The preventable deaths of Baby P & all like him are a clear indictment of Britain's failure to protect vulnerable children & too frequent over-lenient sentences for child abuse & related deaths convey that as a nation we tolerate such abuse & murder.
Effective measures need to be adopted to recognise & tackle child abuse at its earliest stages. Lord Laming's recommendations excluded how Social Workers could better perform their jobs on the front line when visiting children at risk, where improvements & clear nationwide guidelines are urgently needed!
The ongoing abuse of a child culminating in their death is far worse than outright murder. So all child abuse related deaths should carry a discretionary life sentence & all participants are equally responsible regardless of who did the abuse & who allowed the abuse to go on unchallenged.

As a nation we wish to say that we will no longer tolerate these heinous crimes against our youngest & most vulnerable.
*Abuse includes neglect http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/protectchildren1/
Government response

We want to ensure that all children and parents receive the support and care they need.

A key way in which healthcare professionals can ensure that all children are safe is through The Healthy Child Programme. The Healthy Child Programme is delivered by health visiting teams and includes health and development reviews alongside national screening and immunisation programmes beginning at birth through to five.

These health and development reviews and checks provide a key opportunity for members of the health visiting team to see the baby and carer and to take any action if they have concerns, referring to other agencies as necessary. All healthcare professionals should be alert to risk factors and signs and symptoms of child abuse and should follow local child protection procedures where there is cause for concern.
In the Coalition Agreement we set out a range of commitments to support all families, including those most in need of help. We announced that Sure Start centres would refocus so early intervention and meeting the needs of the neediest families was at the heart of their work. We also made clear that we would better involve organisations with strong track records of supporting families so they support this provision. In addition, we announced new funding to pay for 4,200 extra Sure Start health visitors to give greater support for services to those families and children.
Not only are we taking action to focus Sure Start and increase staff numbers, but we have also invited Professor Eileen Munro to review child protection in England to develop alternative models that ensure social workers are not caught up in bureaucracy and will be able to spend as much time with families and children as possible

Petition to:
1) introduce effective reforms to better detect and tackle child abuse and neglect
This petition is now closed, as its deadline has passed.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to 1) introduce effective reforms to better detect & tackle child abuse & neglect 2) abolish parole & increase all minimum & maximum sentences for crimes relating to child abuse & neglect and introduce a maximum tariff of Life for conviction of the death of a child through abuse or neglect 3) conduct full public inquiries into all councils that repeatedly fail in their duty to protect at risk children. More details
Submitted by Dee Murrell – Deadline to sign up by: 02 March 2010 – Signatures: 1,825
More details from petition creator
The preventable deaths of Baby P & all like him are a clear indictment of Britain's failure to protect vulnerable children & too frequent over-lenient sentences for child abuse & related deaths convey that as a nation we tolerate such abuse & murder.
Effective measures need to be adopted to recognise & tackle child abuse at its earliest stages. Lord Laming's recommendations excluded how Social Workers could better perform their jobs on the front line when visiting children at risk, where improvements & clear nationwide guidelines are urgently needed!

The ongoing abuse of a child culminating in their death is far worse than outright murder. So all child abuse related deaths should carry a discretionary life sentence & all participants are equally responsible regardless of who did the abuse & who allowed the abuse to go on unchallenged.
As a nation we wish to say that we will no longer tolerate these heinous crimes against our youngest & most vulnerable.
*Abuse includes neglect http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/protectchildren1/
Government response

We want to ensure that all children and parents receive the support and care they need.

A key way in which healthcare professionals can ensure that all children are safe is through The Healthy Child Programme. The Healthy Child Programme is delivered by health visiting teams and includes health and development reviews alongside national screening and immunisation programmes beginning at birth through to five.
These health and development reviews and checks provide a key opportunity for members of the health visiting team to see the baby and carer and to take any action if they have concerns, referring to other agencies as necessary. All healthcare professionals should be alert to risk factors and signs and symptoms of child abuse and should follow local child protection procedures where there is cause for concern.
In the Coalition Agreement we set out a range of commitments to support all families, including those most in need of help. We announced that Sure Start centres would refocus so early intervention and meeting the needs of the neediest families was at the heart of their work. We also made clear that we would better involve organisations with strong track records of supporting families so they support this provision. In addition, we announced new funding to pay for 4,200 extra Sure Start health visitors to give greater support for services to those families and children.
Not only are we taking action to focus Sure Start and increase staff numbers, but we have also invited Professor Eileen Munro to review child protection in England to develop alternative models that ensure social workers are not caught up in bureaucracy and will be able to spend as much time with families and children as possible