“If the new action being put in place is going to help another child’s well-being then I am very glad to hear it,” she went on.

“It’s just a shame that it’s taken so long to get something done about it.”

Publication of a damning report on children’s services in the city was brought forward last year after 23-month-old Brandon died at the hands of his mother’s boyfriend, Robert Cunningham, in 2008. He was jailed for 10 years for killing the child and during his trial it was revealed Brandon and his mother were well known to social services.

The original report, led by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education, was released last June and tore into children’s services in Dundee.

It examined the work of the city council, the police, the NHS, the children’s reporter and other local agencies and found major weaknesses in the identification of children in need and slow response times by staff.

The team of independent assessors looked at 19 quality indicators.

A shocking nine were considered weak or unsatisfactory and only three were considered to be good.

Six months on, however, a follow-up report, released today, shows a different picture.

More cash, more staff and a redesign of the service seems to have made all the difference — though, the inspectors point out, there is still a long way to go.

Following the further inspection in December, the HMIE team found chief officers and the Children and Young People Protection Committee had “responded quickly and positively” to the main points for action outlined in the earlier report.

“Overall, positive progress had been made in most of the main points for action,” the report continues.

“Services were increasingly working well together in partnership.

“Although many improvements to systems, processes and practice were still at a very early stage, there was a strong commitment to long-term and sustainable improvement across services.

“Chief officers, senior managers and staff recognised there was still considerable work to be carried out to ensure the plans for improvement were fully implemented.”

The inspectors will return to the city within the year to assess on-going progress.

Caroline Selkirk, NHS Tayside Commissioner for Child Health, said child protection services in the city have boosted spending on frontline staff by more than £1m.

She said, “We have added four advanced nurse practitioners to cover the city and a new child protection nurse to work specifically on substance misuse.

“Additional police time has been dedicated to the family protection unit and an extra officer has been added to the domestic abuse team.

“Four social workers have also been added to the child protection and access teams.

“All these extra posts have strengthened our child protection teams so we can provide advice, support early identification and respond quickly to referrals.”

The inspectors also highlighted a new electronic information system to give immediate access to health information on children who may be at risk and investment in a purpose-built child protection unit.

Tayside Police Deputy Chief Constable Bill Harkins said the new multi-agency unit at Kings Cross Hospital represented an investment of £2.65m.

“The fact that police, social work and health staff will be working from the same base will help to improve the service,” he said.

“Information can be shared more easily and partnership working strengthened. We have also introduced a new single telephone number — 307999 — to make it easier for people to get in touch if they have any concerns.”

Today’s report was welcomed by Dundee CYPPC chairman Alan Baird.

“We have acted on the need for change and a lot of hard work from everyone involved with child protection in the city has been focussed on improving our performance,” he said.

“This has involved Dundee City Council, NHS Tayside and Tayside Police committing significant additional resources and strengthening partnership working and leadership on child protection issues.

“Our improvement activity has included the redesign of child protection services and the reconfiguration of staffing, as well as increasing staffing levels and better communication.

However, he added, “While we have made a very positive start, we are not complacent and our improvement work is ongoing and will continue on the long term.”

Dundee City Council social work and health convener Councillor Jim Barrie also welcomed “the positive report that reflects the work that has been done by officers to help improve child protection in the city.

“The original inspection showed that changes had to be made and I have been very encouraged by the commitment of our social work staff to rise to the challenge of delivering improvements.

“We all have a part to play in child protection and the council takes seriously its role in the partnership in Dundee.

“I am confident we will continue to do everything we can to ensure the safety of children and young people in our city.”

Dundee City Council Lib Dem group leader Councillor Fraser Macpherson said, “It is vitally important there is long-term and sustainable improvement to child protection arrangements in the city and positive steps have been taken.

“It is important that all feedback from HMIE is discussed promptly by the city council and I understand that the follow-up report will be discussed by the city council’s policy & resources committee next Monday.”

“WE MUST REMAIN CONSTANTLY VIGILANT”

Welcoming the report, long-serving Dundee councillor and depute provost Ian Borthwick cautioned that “constant vigilance” was required on the part of the council to prevent another case like Brandon’s (writes James Williamson).

“I welcome the progress made so far in respect of child protection services,” he said. “Very significant resources have been applied — not only financial, but in terms of manpower as well.

“They have really put in a great deal to meet the reservations and improvements called for. But we must not, as an authority, rest on our laurels.

“The situation that arose from the Brandon Muir tragedy was, to say the least, deeply concerning and we must ensure we do everything possible to make sure children are safe and tragedies such as this never happen again. We must be constantly vigilant.”