We will not put our children at risk

I was proud to say Thurrock is ahead of the game and I reminded all members of their responsibilities, too. We, as councillors, are individually responsible for the safety of every child in Thurrock.

I gave examples of how we work, how we’ve rolled out awareness courses to staff in all the agencies that make up the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board, making sure they are trained to recognise signs and that they knowwhat to do when they see them.

Following publication of the Rotherham scandal’s Jay Report, we and our partners are going back over previous cases where sexual exploitation was raised as a possible issue and checking again. Not just recent cases, but historic ones, too.

I talked about the Multi- Agency Safeguarding Hub, or Mash, where representatives from all the various agencies and council departments sit in one room, working together to ensure a comprehensive and joined-up approach to child protection.

None of this is made easier here, or anywhere else, by the difficult financial climate we find ourselves in, but I must make it clear that, while I will strive to get the best possible value for money from every department in the council, I will not allow it to become an excuse to put children’s safety at risk.

Demands on the service are going up and the public quite rightly expect the authority to provide appropriate safeguards for every child at risk.

At the start of every year we estimate what this is likely to cost. If demand is greater than expected, then those costs will rise.

We will work to bring down costs, but an overspend in children’s care is not something the council should be ashamed of, it’s more something society as a whole should be concerned about.

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