The NSPCC has urged the government to better support social workers to identify cases of childhood neglect, and to ensure children in troubled households are properly seen and heard.

Free personal care will be introduced so the frailest can be cared for in their own homes, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged.

A care home manager from Lincolnshire has denied wilfully neglecting any of her residents. St Michael’s Care Home in Waddington, near Lincoln, was raided by a team of social workers and detectives in 2007, allegedly after disgruntled staff tipped off the authorities.

A jury has partly blamed the police and two councils for the tragic deaths of a mother and her disabled daughter. The coroner then singled out one of the authorities for criticism, saying it failed to protect a vulnerable family from the anti-social behaviour which haunted their daily lives.

Schools Secretary Ed Balls today stood by his decision to sack Haringey’s social services chief over the Baby P case. As Sharon Shoesmith prepared to challenge Mr Balls in the courts, he told the conference that he acted in the best interests of children in the borough.

A FORMER social services boss and scout leader from West Yorkshire has been charged with a series of sex offences against teenage boys dating back 40 years.

Plans to allow the media to name social workers in family court cases are being opposed strongly by judges and lawyers, who warn that the change could breach human rights laws. They have expressed “grave concerns” that the latest tranche of reforms to open up the courts may drive away experts and violate children’s rights to privacy.

A coroner attacked authorities over failings while dealing with a family who were terrorised by a gang of youths asking why social workers could not have just “sat down with a cup of tea” and asked how to help.