Children Bill unveils reforms

The Children Bill unveiled by the Government last week is 'the legislative spine for much wider reform to achieve better outcomes for children', according to children's minister Margaret Hodge. Speaking last week at the 4Children conference, 'Tomorrow's world - The childcare revolution and beyond', Ms Hodge outlined some of the key areas the Bill would cover. These range from the creation of the post of a children's commissioner for England to ensuring that all children's services worked together across different sectors to protect children, with the 'heart of accountability' being new directors of children's services in every local authority area.