A child in our care has died. Two people have been convicted of cruelty. An independent report has been published and Brighton and Hove City Council must follow the proper process of investigation as a result.

I cannot condone the actions of social workers. It doesn't get us very far and provoked ill-informed responses about social workers and the work they do.

But social workers have been at the back of the queue while the Government has been promoting the importance of key public-sector workers. Police, teachers and nurses have all benefited.

This is fine, but it is only now the Government is financing a national recruitment campaign aimed at giving a positive image to social workers and encouraging people to join the profession. I very much hope it works.

In Brighton and Hove, many social workers cannot afford even to get on to the property ladder while, at the same time, they work on the front-line dealing with the misery of homeless families and trying to find them half-decent accommodation.

Social workers make up only a small part of the workforce of our social services. More than 1,650 people are employed as carers, administrators and managers, all struggling to give excellent care to hundreds of vulnerable people. They will all have been affected by the death of John Smith and deserve our support at this difficult time.

Again, the Government has acknowledged - rather late in the day - that social services have to be treated as equal partners with health services to solve the problems. This must be reflected in funding arrangements.

Now the mayoral debate is over, we will begin to reshape how the council is structured. But, before we get too preoccupied with that, there is a need to have a thorough debate about basic public services and how we get the balance right. Brighton and Hove has good social services. It needs resources but so do many other services the city provides. There isn't a bottomless pit of money, so some collective common sense is needed when councillors come to make decisions.

-Coun Jean Spray, Executive member, Social Care and Health, Brighton and Hove City Council