ABSTRACT
National Service Frameworks (NSFs) were a new development in the National Health Service (NHS) under New Labour and unique internationally. They were designed to set mandatory standards of care with ring-fenced money, hard targets and deliverables for specific aspects of the health service. Each NSF was led by a respected senior doctor, who was given the title of National Clinical Director. They had proved to be successful in transforming adult cancer services, coronary heart disease, adult mental health and older people's services. The Climbie Inquiry is a 'watershed' moment that triggered the Children Act of 2004. Politics is a word sadly not understood by much of the children's sector in getting action for children. The impact of policies on real people and the political disconnect with them is exposed by the soaring rates of poverty today, with austerity disproportionately affecting the poor.
