CHILD protection services are facing privatisation under David Cameron’s plans to “reform” public services and “streamline” government.

Speaking in Leeds yesterday, the Prime Minister claimed children’s services were an example of “state failure” that demanded “more ambitious reform.”

And, in a move that mirrors Tory schools policy, he threatened to strip local authorities of responsibility for social services and hand them over to not-for-profit trusts.

Mr Cameron said it was part of his vision for a “smarter state,” where the government would “spend less and deliver more.”

“It’s not unlike business,” he said. “Businesses are constantly adapting and changing, using new technology or new methods of delivery to improve both their products and reduce their costs.

“I’m not suggesting we should run government exactly like a business. I just mean that if we use their insights, we can help develop a smarter state.”

Campaign for Public Ownership director Neil Clark said the prospect of “wholescale outsourcing and privatisation” lurked behind the Prime Minister’s reform rhetoric.

“The extremist agenda of Cameron and his government is very obvious — it’s to destroy the last vestiges of the progressive post-World War II mixed economy,” he told the Star.

“When he talks about a ‘smarter state,’ he means a state that can still afford to bomb Syria, but one which won’t provide libraries, social care and other important public services.”

Mr Cameron also asserted that he had a “moral imperative” to “streamline” government.

The sale of public assets that are “no longer needed” is to be fast tracked, while public land will be flogged off with planning permission to make it more attractive to big-money buyers.

The government is also set to introduce laws that will compel the police, fire and ambulance services to combine “back office functions.”

Power over fire services will also be handed over to police and crime commissioners.

Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack said: “These are badly thought-out proposals from a government which couldn’t care less about emergency services or those they employ.

“Police are law enforcers, while fire and rescue is a humanitarian service with a very different remit and culture. Firefighters need to be seen to be neutral within the communities they serve.”