Statement on new Baby P Serious Case Review

1 May 2009

Graham Badman, the independent chairman of the Haringey Local Safeguarding Children Board and chair of the new Baby Peter Serious Case review said today, “The second Serious Case Review into the case of Baby Peter was completed some time ago.  The executive summary is ready for publication. I have received legal advice that precludes publication of the summary at the present time but I am keen to place this document in the public domain as rapidly as possible and propose to publish it as soon as it is legally permissible to do so.”

“In the meantime I am able to indicate that the Serious Case Review reached a number of important conclusions.  It said the actions of the protecting professions involved with Baby Peter were lacking in urgency, lacking in thoroughness and insufficiently challenging to the child’s mother.

“It also said staff adopted a threshold of concern for taking children into care that was too high and had expectations of what could be achieved that were too low.

“The review panel is also clear, in its report, that every member of staff in every agency involved with Baby Peter was appropriately qualified, well motivated and wanted to do their best to safeguard Baby Peter.  However, the review concludes that Baby Peter’s horrifying death could and should have been prevented.  It says if doctors, lawyers, police and social workers had adopted a more urgent, thorough and challenging approach the case would have been stopped in its tracks at the first serious incident.  Baby Peter deserved better from the services which were there to protect him.

“The review says that cases like that of Baby Peter do not involve problems that are restricted to Haringey.  Lessons need to be learned more widely.  Services generally need to place greater emphasis upon improvement in parenting.

“I believe the most important lesson to be learned from this review is that professionals charged with ensuring child safety were not adequately sceptical of the explanations they were given for the apparent maltreatment of Baby Peter.  

“I am confident the current managers and staff of the agencies involved in this particular case are fully committed to learning the key lessons and implementing change.

“The review is not an end in itself, but a step on the way to ensuring that professionals in different agencies achieve the highest quality of practice, both individually and collectively.  If this review provides any form of legacy for Baby P it is that the lessons to be learned help to ensure the greater safety of children and young people across Britain.”