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The Government has published its response to the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s national review following the tragic death of baby Victoria Marten.

Source: Child Safeguarding Review Panel published on this website Friday 17 July 2026 by Jill Powell

Published in February 2026, the review Protecting all vulnerable babies better highlights the complex vulnerabilities faced by babies and unborn infants and calls for clearer national guidance, stronger multi-agency working and more effective information sharing to ensure that risks are identified and responded to at the earliest possible stage.

In its response, the Government has committed to strengthening early identification of risk, particularly during pregnancy and the first year of life, to ensure coordinated responses to the key factors associated with serious harm and death. This includes improvements to maternity, health visiting and primary care services, alongside expanded perinatal mental health support and the rollout of Best Start Family Hubs. Together, these measures aim to ensure that vulnerability is recognised earlier and that families receive timely, coordinated support.

The Government is also introducing stronger safeguarding systems and protections. Under the legal guidelines that all safeguarding agencies work towards, a new duty will require agencies to share information and establish multi-agency child protection teams in every area, improving coordination and strengthening decision-making to better protect babies and unborn children.

Action is already underway to strengthen support for families at risk of babies entering care, particularly where parents have experienced the trauma of previous removals. For example, the Families First Partnership (FFP) programme helps safeguarding partners use funding and local arrangements to better support birth parents by addressing underlying issues such as trauma, domestic abuse, mental health needs, and substance use.

Since the Panel’s review, the legal guidelines that all safeguarding agencies work with has also been strengthened to ensure babies are explicitly recognised as a priority group across both children’s and adult services. This gives professionals the information they need to help risk identification, pre-birth planning and for the first time, recognises the need to consider support for parents who have previously had a child removed from their care.

Panel Chair, Sir David Holmes CBE, said:

“The landmark changes the Government is implementing because of our national review are a positive step in the right direction, but unless they are fully delivered in practice, vulnerable babies will remain at risk.

“As babies feature so often in serious safeguarding incidents, what we see on paper must turn into real, lasting change to ensure that every baby is given the safest possible start in life.

“The Panel will do everything it can to help drive these improvements forward.”

Babies and unborn infants continue to form the largest group of children in safeguarding incidents – the latest figures reveal over 75 babies died last year – a stark reminder of the urgent need for strengthened, system-wide action. Babies under one made up over 60% of deaths seen in serious incident notifications last year.

These measures are a positive step forward to keep vulnerable babies safe and the Panel will work closely with the Government to deliver on today’s commitments and ensure that Victoria’s short life is honoured through meaningful, lasting change to better protect babies and unborn children.

Officer dismissed after abusing position of power for sexual purpose

Source: Metropolitan Police published on this website Thursday 16 July 2026 by Jill Powell

A Met officer has been dismissed without notice after he abused his position of power over a female colleague for a sexual purpose.

A misconduct hearing found Chief Inspector Kevin Weeden, attached to the Public Order Command, abused his position of power over a female colleague for a sexual purpose.

Chief Superintendent Clair Haynes, who leads the command, said:

“Ch Insp Weeden used his far more senior position to exert control over a junior member of staff, exploiting a clear imbalance of power, and subjecting her to unwanted attention.

“His behaviour very clearly did not meet the high standards we expect of all our officers and staff and he has now been held to account for his actions.

“From identifying the misconduct to Ch Insp Weeden’s dismissal today is just 12 weeks. It demonstrates the Met’s commitment to pursue those who commit misconduct and impact the trust and confidence the public and our own people have in the Met.”

The hearing, on Tuesday 14 July, heard that Ch Insp Weeden pursued a sexual and/or emotional relationship, engaged in inappropriate communications, and failed to declare or appropriately manage the professional relationship despite the officer working under his supervision.

Between November 2024 and February 2026, he engaged in persistent and unwanted contact with the same officer, continuing to send her messages despite being asked to stop.

The hearing found allegations Ch Insp Weeden breached standards of professional behaviour in respect of discreditable conduct, authority, respect and courtesy, orders and instructions, equality and diversity, and duties and responsibilities proven at the level of gross misconduct and he was dismissed without notice.

He will also be added to the College of Policing barred list, preventing him re-joining the police or working for a number of other policing-related bodies.

Ofsted outlines plans to tackle sharp growth in unregistered children’s homes

Source: Ofsted published on this website Tuesday 14 July 2024 by Jill Powell

Ofsted has today outlined a change in its approach to tackling unregistered children’s homes, designed to stop unsafe and unlawful placements and to address issues of sufficiency in the children’s social care system.

Sufficiency – the amount of suitable accommodation available for children in care and care leavers – is shaped by a complex set of factors, rather than by the volume of provision alone.

Local authorities have a duty to ensure there are enough suitable places for looked-after children, close to their home and able to meet their needs. However, while there are now more children’s homes than ever before, homes are getting smaller, are often not in the right places, or are unable to meet the needs of children needing residential care. Meanwhile, local authorities are spending record figures on placements.

Research, published today by Ofsted, reveals that issues with workforce capacity, affordability of housing and lack of foster carers has led to children being placed further from home, or in placements not suited to their needs.

This problem of sufficiency is contributing to a sharp growth in local authorities’ use of unregistered children’s homes, as Yvette Stanley, Ofsted’s National Director for Regulation and Social Care, explains in an article published today.

Unregistered homes put children at risk of being looked after by unvetted and unsuitable people. There are also indications that profiteering and criminality are increasingly a problem in the sector.

Today’s article explains how Ofsted will crack down on unregistered children’s home providers, through criminal investigations and prosecution, and by working with partners such as the local authority or the police to take immediate action to safeguard children. At the same time, Ofsted’s upcoming consultation on children’s social care inspection reforms will include proposals aimed at eradicating the use of illegal unregistered provision by awarding ‘urgent improvement’ and ‘needs attention’ grades where local authorities are using illegal provision and have not demonstrated determined action to match local sufficiency with local need.

Ofsted has also today updated its guidance on registering children’s homes to prioritise providers offering specialist provision in the right places. With a growing number of applications, the revised approach aims to make sure that Ofsted’s finite regulatory resources are used to process applications that meet local authorities’ most urgent sufficiency needs and support the welfare of children.

The Children’s Minister, Josh MacAlister, has written to Ofsted expressing his strong support for a targeted approach to processing applications that can provide homes for children when and where they are needed most. As part of a list of criteria for priority applications, Ofsted will expect applicants to have engaged directly with the relevant local authorities to make sure that the proposed provision meets the needs of children locally and regionally.

Letter from Children’s Minister, Josh MacAlister to Sir Martyn Oliver (PDF, 134 KB, 3 pages

First ever cross-government action plan to support unpaid carers published.

Source: Department of Health and Social Care published on this website Wednesday 15 July 2026 by Jill Powell

Millions of unpaid carers in England will be better recognised, referred to support and helped to reach their full potential, under a new cross-government action plan published 14 July 2026.

Nearly one in 10 people in England is an unpaid carer - providing an invaluable service in society looking after family members, friends or loved ones.

However, unpaid carers can experience challenges with keeping up careers or education, looking after their own health - including loneliness and isolation - and difficulties in taking breaks away from caring.

The action plan is underpinned by 3 central pillars:

recognising our carers
referring them to services
helping them reach their potential

Recognising includes making sure they are identified early, particularly young carers. Unpaid carers can then be referred to the support they need whether it’s financial (such as the Carer’s Allowance), employment support (such as Carer’s Leave and flexible working) or health and social care services. Support also includes helping them to reach their potential or remain in work or education, so they can have fulfilling lives beyond their caring responsibilities.

Minister of State for Care, Stephen Kinnock, said:

“Unpaid carers make an extraordinary contribution in our communities, caring for loved ones, often putting the needs of others before their own, and we owe them a debt of gratitude for all they do. But too many still go unseen, struggle to find support or feel caring has held back their own health, education, work or retirement.

“Our action plan is addressing some of these challenges and is focused on helping carers reach their potential in education or work. To all unpaid and young carers across the country - this government values your contribution and is committed to building a system that recognises and supports you.”

The government’s Unpaid carers action plan: recognise, refer, reach contains 42 clear actions and sets out practical steps across health, social care, education, employment and social security to improve support for unpaid carers.

The main measures of the plan include:

unpaid carers registering their role on the NHS App so health professionals can clearly see they are a carer and involving them in care planning and referring them to the right support
the single patient record will mean all health and care providers will have the same information for a person - meaning unpaid carers will no longer need to repeat the same information about the person they care for, while helping them manage appointments and prescriptions
unpaid carers information page on GOV.UK putting clear guidance from health, social care, employment and benefits in one place for the first time - launching this summer
a ‘carers’ charter’ to be published, setting out the carer’s rights and entitlements
the government will require employers with more than 250 workers to improve the support for unpaid carers from spring 2027 so they can continue in their careers while carrying out their caring responsibilities
carers to be central to hospital discharge planning, under reforms to the Better Care Fund
young carers will be identified quicker and better supported so they can stay in education without falling behind at school. Schools will be held accountable by data on young carers’ attendances alongside secure information sharing about young carers across services, so they are supported

The action plan follows the steps the government has already taken to support unpaid carers including raising the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit by more than £2,750 in 2 years, the largest increase since the 1970s. Alongside this, Universal Credit and Pension Credit provide an additional £2,500 a year to 1.1 million unpaid carers through the carer element and carer addition.
The Department for Business and Trade has also launched a consultation on employment rights and carer’s leave, with proposals to introduce paid carer’s leave and a right to return to work following a period of intensive caring.
Baroness Casey’s independent commission on adult social careis underway, which includes exploring the needs of unpaid carers, as part of our first steps towards a national care service. The commission’s initial recommendations are due this year.

Decade long prison sentence for child sexual abuser

Source: Kent Police published on this website Monday 13 July 2023

A sex offender who abused a young girl in Margate has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Kevin O’Toole repeatedly sexually abused a child, beginning in spring 2022. He gained the trust of his victim before eventually forcing her to perform sexual acts on him. The abuse continued for around a year before the victim disclosed the offences to an adult, who reported it to Kent Police the same evening in April 2023.

An investigation was immediately launched, and O’Toole was arrested. During his police interview O’Toole categorically denied ever touching his victim, even going as far as answering ‘no way in hell’ when posed questions about his abuse. The 46-year-old was released under strict conditional bail whilst the investigation continued.

Police in Lincoln, where O’Toole moved following his arrest, conducted a warrant on his address in June 2025 and discovered over 180 indecent images of children on his devices. He was arrested and investigated for these offences.

O’Toole, formerly of Canwick Road, Lincoln, was later charged with 7 sexual offences, including 3 for the indecent images discovered on his devices.

He pled not guilty, however, following a three-day trial in May 2026, a jury found him unanimously guilty on all counts at Canterbury Crown Court. On Thursday 9 July he was sentenced to 10 years in prison at the same court. He will also be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the rest of his life.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Michael Lord, said:

‘I firstly want to praise the courage of the victim in this case. The bravery she has shown in disclosing what happened to her and supporting our investigation across the years has been remarkable.‘O’Toole took the opportunity to lie at every possible point in our investigation, denying his actions despite the overwhelming evidence against him. I welcome the sentence given by the court and hope it gives the victim and her family a sense of closure.’