The Hamzah Khan case – in which a toddler died of starvation after being neglected by his mother – horrified the entire nation, and rightfully so.

But after legal proceedings were concluded, questions were inevitably asked as to why the child seemed to have slipped through the social services net. Now the government inspection body Ofsted has carried out an inspection of Bradford Council’s safeguarding children’s board, and determined that overall the service “requires improvement”.

However, the council has been told it is “good” in most areas, especially in tackling sexual grooming of young people in the district.

Of course, the recommendations of Ofsted must be acted upon immediately to improve this most important of services, because anything less than swift, decisive and positive action when it comes to the safety of children will never be satisfactory.

But it must also be borne in mind that since the Hamzah case, the safeguarding board is receiving 100 more referrals every month, and it will take time for the correct balance to be struck with this increased workload.

This does not necessarily mean instances of child cruelty or endangering young people are on the increase, but perhaps more that since the Hamzah incident people are more ready to inform the authorities of suspected situations.

Ultimately, this is a good thing, because if we turn a blind eye to our suspicions for fear of making a mistaken allegation, then child cruelty is kept behind locked doors and that, as poor Hamzah Khan is evidence of, ends in tragedy.

As many resources as are needed – cash or people – must be put into bringing the safeguarding board up to the necessary standard so children’s lives can be improved and perhaps saved.