The Government has been accused by MPs today of being too slow to improve child protection services.

A report by the Public Accounts Committee found variations in the quality and consistency of protection services was leaving children at risk of harm.

It called on the Department for Education (DfE) to detail out how it will work with local authorities to transform services, how it will better intervene to prevent problems from escalating and how it will attract more high calibre people to social work.

Committee chair, Meg Hillier, said: ‘It is completely unacceptable that six years after the launch of a major review of child protection services so little progress has been made.

‘Government has now set itself a target of 2020 to transform the system, a timeframe which better serves Whitehall than it does vulnerable young people in need of help.

‘Even then there is a serious risk of past mistakes being repeated. 

‘For change to be effective it must be based on evidence of what works, a point government accepts but has yet to act on properly.

‘When things are going wrong locally it must intervene earlier – and, to do that, it must use the information available to monitor and address emerging problems.'

Less than a quarter of services have been judged as good by Ofsted.

The Local Government Association has called for Ofsted to play a more active role in supporting improvements to children's services.

Chief executive of the British Association of Social Workers, Ruth Allen,  said: 'A lack of sector- wide, inclusive planning, the undermining of universal legal provisions for children and piecemeal, selective approaches to improvement leaves many social care departments without the right resources and leaves many professionals confused and demoralised.'