The appalling case of Baby P reported yesterday involving Haringey Social Services yet again highlights some of the problems in our society. There are the usual calls for social workers to be sacked and disciplined but we need to identify the real causes and not just jump on band wagons.

The starting point in all of these cases are the perpetrators. There are sadists and paedophiles out in our community that enjoy inflicting pain and abuse upon very young children. Often alcohol and drugs are a factor. Social services departments up and down the country are designed to protect children from these perpetrators.

The Government needs to take some responsibility. The system put in place to protect these vulnerable children is underfunded. The vast majority of social workers are dedicated and work extremely hard for very low wages. The Legal Aid system has recently been changed and discourages senior legal practitioners from continuing to work in this area of the law. Unfortunately as with everything in life money is a major factor.

There is no doubt that if social workers have been negligent in their duties they should be disciplined or sacked. However individual responsibility is rarely the complete answer. Systems should always be regularly reviewed and improved upon. It is incumbent upon us all however to look at the route cause first and not just have a knee jerk reaction. Lessons yet again need to be learnt.