Last Thursday, the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse published its report following the conclusion of its seven year investigation of institutional failure to protect vulnerable children in England and Wales.

Professor Alexis Jay’s inquiry heard from thousands of victims and survivors who came forward to share their testimonies. I am grateful to each of them for their bravery, and I was glad to have the opportunity to question the Home Secretary on this matter.

In my 20 years leading on child protection work in local government, I saw numerous attempts to address failures in the system. Perhaps most worrying was the apparent lack of good information-sharing. I was therefore interested to ask the Home Secretary how we can hold to account safeguarding partners and statutory partners in the sector.

Understanding the concerns raised by myself and my colleagues, the Home Secretary shared his experiences with information sharing. In his first few days at the Home Office, Grant Shapps has expressed support for greater modernisation and greater information sharing throughout the safeguarding process.

The Home Secretary assured me that he had taken my concerns aboard and promised to improve the situation.