The big question on everybody's lips following yesterday's publication of Childhood Lost is whether or not we can prevent such a tragedy happening again.

Although some of the messages it contained are depressingly familiar - those concerning poor communication and co-ordination of services for children - things have moved on since the trial and conviction of Dominic McKilligan in 1998.

Across the country, the police and probation services - working in co-operation with other agencies, including social services - have developed public protection policies and practices to complete comprehensive risk assessments on those people convicted of sex offences or those who they believe present a threat to the community.

The sharing of information between organisations which for so long posed major difficulties around confidentiality is now possible under these new arrangements.

County Durham was the first to establish a multi-agency public protection unit, staffed by police and probation staff, and for the past two years has worked hard to increase the quality of risk assessments and the management of sex offenders and dangerous people in the community.

Sadly, however, as the Bridge Report points out, while it is possible through better multi-agency working to reduce the risk of people - adults or children - committing serious sexual offences, it is extremely difficult for us to predict which young people who offend in this way may go on to kill a child.

Equally, despite the substantial number of violent and sexual offences committed by children and young people, there is no co-ordinated national service to ensure the development of consistent standards for their care treatment and clinical oversight, no single inspection system, and no development programme for services which reflects the level of need nationally.

All the social services departments present at the Press conference yesterday accepted the findings of the report, and expressed their commitment to implement the action plans which their area child protection committees are formulating in response to the findings.

What is also required, however, is to learn other lessons from the Bridge Report about the need for a more coordinated national approach to providing services to young sex offenders.

These national services then need to dovetail with quality local services provided by agencies working on the ground. Only through this approach will we have any chance of reducing the level of risk presented by young people who commit such serious offences