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The children's secretary has told MPs there should be no "buck passing" when it comes to the safety of children.
Ed Balls also confirmed in the Commons that the government is accepting all the recommendations contained in Lord Laming's latest report on child protection.
In 2003 Lord Laming published a report following an inquiry into the death of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie, and he was asked to re-examine children's services across England in November 2008, in the wake of the Baby P case.
He concluded that "more needs to be done to inject energy and drive into safeguarding and child protection across all frontline services".
And Lord Laming called on ministers to "set explicit priorities for the protection of children and young people and reflect these in the targets for each of the key frontline services, and ensure sufficient resources are in place to deliver these priorities".
There will be programme of management training for key personnel in all of the main services, and improvements in the skills of inspectors who evaluate frontline services.
Systems will also be put in place to ensure that GPs and hospital staff have "the right information and training to identify and protect a child they fear may be at risk".
Balls told MPs that there is a need for a "step change" in child protection, adding that "no buck passing should get in the way of keeping children safe".
Sir Roger Singleton will take up a new post as chief adviser on the safety of children, the children's secretary announced.
The former chief of children's charity Barnardo's will report on a regular basis to the children, schools and families select committee, Balls confirmed.
And the chief executive and leader of local councils will be required to say annually that they are abiding with the law on child protection.
A social work taskforce will take forward improvements to the training of social workers, and all newly-qualified social workers starting this year will receive a year of support and training.
Balls also announced plans to expand the graduate recruitment scheme, amid warnings from council leaders that children's services are under threat as thousands of social work posts remain unfilled.
An estimated one in 10 social workers – about 3,000 jobs – remain vacant at any time, according to figures from the Local Government Association.
Balls told MPs he remained concerned about the state of child protection services in Doncaster, and defended his actions in Haringey following the Baby P case.
He added that court fees in child care cases could be abolished from the beginning of the financial year.
And he welcomed the health secretary's announcement that there will be an increase in the number of health visitors.
For the Conservatives, Michael Gove backed "speedy" action and welcomed steps to review the impact of court fees on care proceedings.
The shadow children's secretary described Lord Laming's work as "diligent" and "powerful".
He said that low morale and formidable recruitment and retention problems were a "remarkable indictment" of child protection services.
And Lord Laming's report is "scathing" about red tape and bureaucracy, said Gove.
The shadow children's minister also argued that 'serious case reviews' should by published in full.
"We cannot have a situation where we keep terrible errors secret," he said. "Please think again on this issue and put children first."
Responding, Ball insisted that Gove was "isolated" in his view that they should be published.
Saying that his shadow had "dug himself into a hole on this", he added: "You are absolutely wrong on this issue."
Labour MP Barry Sheerman, chairman of the select committee on children and schools, warned that it will take time to implement all the recommendations.
"It will cost a lot of money and it needs to be done quickly," he added.
Sue Berelowitz, deputy children's commissioner for England, had earlier urged the government to keep reforms "on the road".
She told the BBC that Lord Laming's review was "the right way to go".
"The path is about placing the child at the centre of everything that happens – all planning, and all actions in relation to keeping children safe and to ensure that their welfare and well-being is promoted," she said.
"That is about agencies working together... joint planning.
"And I know that from my own discussion with Lord Laming, who phoned me in response to a submission that we made from children, that he is absolutely determined to place children at the centre of everything."
Berelowitz maintained that the reforms originally recommended by Lord Laming were making "a real difference".
She continued: "There are always cases where one must scrutinise what has happened extremely carefully. And nobody is complacent about anything at all.
"I am very hopeful that [the recommendations] will be about strengthening the social workforce. This is a challenging world. People do need support. Of course there are lessons to be learnt.
"But we mustn't deflect from the important road that we are already embarked upon."
But Liberal Democrat MP Lynne Featherstone, who represents Haringey in north London where the Climbie and Baby P deaths occurred, has repeated her calls for a full public inquiry into the Baby P case.
She said: "Clearly the rulebook doesn't need to be rewritten, the rules just need to be applied. To do this, Haringey needs two things above all - more accountability and more openness.
"However, key questions remain unanswered, such as why did Haringey's whistle-blowing policy fail so badly?
"Why were the people who warned that something was wrong ignored? We have had review after review and yet we seem no closer to the truth."
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