The Children Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act amended the Children Act 1989, largely in consequence of the Victoria Climbié inquiry.

Lord Laming concluded that the Children Act 1989 was fundamentally sound. However, his report also revealed a lack of inter-agency coordination and local and national leadership on child protection. The Children Act 2004 addressed these problems in part by:

• Creating the role of the Children’s Commissioner to oversee child welfare across the UK

• Establishing clear child protection guidelines for local authorities (LAs)

• Ordering LAs to appoint a children’s services director accountable for child protection

• Requiring cooperation between LAs and other agencies when it’s necessary to promote child welfare