1889
The first act of parliament for the prevention of cruelty to children, commonly known as the "children's charter" was passed. This enabled British law to intervene, for the first time, in relations between parents and children. Police could arrest anyone found ill-treating a child and obtain a warrant to enter a home if a child was thought to be in danger. The act also included guidelines on the employment of children and outlawed begging.
1894
The act was amended and extended. It allowed children to give evidence in court, mental cruelty was recognised and it became an offence to deny a sick child medical attention.
1908
The Children's Act 1908 established juvenile courts and introduced the registration of foster parents. The Punishment of Incest Act made sexual abuse within families a matter for state jurisdiction rather than intervention by the clergy.
1932
The Children and Young Persons Act 1932 broadened the powers of juvenile courts and introduced supervision orders for children at risk.
1933
A further Children and Young Persons Act collated all existing child protection legislation into one act.
1948
The Children Act 1948 established a children's committee and a children's officer in each local authority. It followed the creation of the parliamentary care of children committee in 1945 following the death of 13-year-old Dennis O'Neill at the hands of foster parents.
1970
Under the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970, local authority social work services and social care provision, including those for children, were unified in social services departments.
1974
The inquiry into the death of Maria Cowell at the hands of her stepfather highlighted a serious lack of coordination within child protection services. Its report led to the development of area child protection committees (ACPCs), which coordinate the agencies responsible for ensuring the safety of children at risk.
1989
The Children Act 1989 gave every child the right to protection from abuse and exploitation and the right to have inquiries made to safeguard their welfare. Its central tenet was that children are usually best looked after within their family. The act came into force in England and Wales in 1991 and - with some differences - in Northern Ireland in 1996.
1991
Working Together Under the Children Act is published in England. It states that when child abuse is suspected or confirmed to be the cause of a child's death ACPCs have to conduct an investigation, known as a part eight review, to establish whether child protection procedures were followed. The guidance was updated in 1999 in Working Together to Safeguard Children.
1999
The Protection of Children Act 1999 was passed, aiming to prevent paedophiles from working with children. It requires childcare organisations in England and Wales to provide the Department of Health (DoH) with details of anyone known to them who is suspected of harming children or putting them at risk.
2003
In January, Lord Laming published his report into the death of child abuse victim Victoria Climbié, which found that health, police and social services missed 12 opportunities to save Victoria. It recommended a minister for children; a national agency for children and families; local committees and management boards to oversee children's services; a national child database; and a 24-hour helpline for the public to report concerns about children. Margaret Hodge is appointed the first children's minister in June, but the post is not cabinet-level as Lord Laming recommended. A government green paper, Every Child Matters, followed in September. This proposed an electronic tracking system for England's 11 million children; 150 children's trusts, amalgamating social services, education and child health, to be set up by 2006; a children's director to oversee local children's services; statutory local safeguarding children boards to replace ACPCs; and an independent children's commissioner for England, to protect young people's welfare and rights.
2004
The government publishes the children bill, which will implement the main proposals of the green paper: the electronic children's files; children's directors; and the children's commissioner. But it allows local authorities more flexibility in organising their children's services, with the amalgamation of education and social services no longer mandatory. Councils are also given another two years to set up children's trusts.