SOCIAL Services departments in East Lancashire are set to be overhauled as part of a Government drive to protect children.

Blackburn with Darwen Council and Lancashire County Council will be asked, along with other authorities across the country, to appoint a paid director and a leading councillor to oversee children's services.

Other key services, such as education, careers advice and health, will also be integrated and could include youth offending teams.

The proposed changes are outlined in Every Child Matters, a document which follows on from the inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie.

Victoria, of Tottenham, North London, died in February, 2000, after suffering months of torture and abuse from her carers, her great aunt Therese Kouao and her boyfriend Carl Manning. Both have been jailed for life for murder.

The inquiry was set up to find out what lessons could be learned by the various agencies but had failed to take action to save her.

A government spokesman said: "The people who work with children are central to keeping them safe and helping them get the most out of life.

"We owe a debt of gratitude for the difficult and challenging work they preform. We want to value the specific skills that people from different professional backgrounds bring, and we also want to break down the barriers that inhibit joint working and tackle recruitment and retention problems.

"Our goal musty be to make working with children an attractive, high-status career, and to develop a more skilled and flexible workforce."

Councils will also be told to make children a priority and the police and health organisations will have a new duty to safeguard children and work in partnership.