NOTTINGHAM's head of children's services says he is confident there will be no repeat of the Baby K scandal.

The city council and health staff came under fire last year after it emerged the baby had been illegally removed from its mother three hours after it was born, due to concerns for its safety.

A court ruled the decision was unlawful, and staff were forced to hand the baby back to its mother until a further court ruling.

A report into the incident, released yesterday, found child protection workers failed to communicate well enough and did not plan properly.

It found that no formal written consent was gained from the mother before the child was taken from her.

It also found that not all staff involved in her care were informed of a decision to remove the baby as soon as it was born, with many believing the plan was for the baby to be kept with the mother until she left hospital.

Ian Curryer, Corporate Director of Children's Services at Nottingham City Council, said lessons had been learned and procedures had been changed.

He said: "I am very hopeful that we have clarified the issue and that it won't happen again."

He said: "The fundamental issue that has come out of this report is that we relied on the implied consent of the mother. We had discussions – and the mother was involved in all those – around what we wanted to happen.

"While we thought she agreed with everything we decided, we never got that formally written down or signed up.

"We relied on the fact that once she'd given birth to the baby she would agree with that and, in fact, she changed her mind.

"We did not therefore have a legal basis to remove the baby."

He said the council immediately put in place new guidance for its own staff and those from other organisations, such as health trusts.

Training has also been provided to staff to make sure they are clear on legal issues.

He said: "The majority of the guidance we put out almost immediately.

"We have not sat and waited almost a year for the report to be commissioned and completed."

He added: "Above all, this was an action taken by social workers to protect a child.

"Procedurally, they may not have been quite right, and I absolutely accept that we must have procedure correct, but appropriately, the focus was to protect the child.

"The report does nothing to give me concern that we did not do our best in terms of focusing on the child."

Baby K was removed from its mother two days after the original order was made later and has been in foster care ever since.