'Children's trusts', created after the death of Victoria Climbie, have hindered rather than helped local public services' work to protect vulnerable children, the Audit Commission has found.

Organisations such as the NHS and social services have changed the way they organise services for children, but there is little evidence that creating the trusts has contributed to any improvement in outcomes or the value of services, the report says.

There are few examples of money from organisations such as the NHS, social services and education being spent differently.

Instead, too much time and energy has been spent on the "structures and process" of the new trusts.

Children's minister Beverley Hughes reacted angrily to the report, saying it was almost a year out of date and that "significant changes" had taken place since the field work on which the report was based.

Download Are we there yet? Improving governance and resource management in children's trusts

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