‘The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children.’ So said the German protestant theologian and anti-Nazi activist Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

‘The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children.’ So said the German protestant theologian and anti-Nazi activist Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

That quotation came uncomfortably to mind in our consideration of the coalition’s reversal of plans to scrap the controversial fees paid by councils in care and supervision cases.

Justice minister Jonathan Djanogly says there is no empirical evidence pointing to the need for abolition. The number of applications to take children into care has actually risen in the last two years, despite the fees rising from £150 to £4,825 in May 2008. So what’s the problem?

Djanogly’s defence appears disingenuous at the very least. The Baby P case placed council child protection policies under intense scrutiny, amid the hysterical (and inevitable) tabloid scapegoating of the social work profession that followed. A spike in applications was entirely predictable as local authorities doubtless erred on the side of extreme caution.

More to the point, local authorities were not then about to feel the full force of public spending cuts that are unprecedented in modern times.

Councillors up and down the land are making judgements on all manner of economies, as are ministers in Whitehall. But shutting down libraries and swimming pools is one thing – subjecting the protection of abused children to considerations of affordability quite another.