But the Care Inspectorate also said it was "too soon" to assess the impact any changes would have on children and families at risk.

That is the conclusion of inspectors following up the case of Declan, whose death was concealed by his drug addict mother Kimberley for months.

The tragic case came to light when the child's body was found in his mother's squalid home on March 30, 2010. It has never been established how Declan died but his mother was jailed for 15 years for murder in January this year.

A Fatal Accident Inquiry into the case is still to be held and a date has not yet been set.

Now it has emerged the Care Inspectorate visited Renfrewshire in May this year following the publication of the Significant Case Review into Declan's death.

Its report says: "Chief officers, the Renfrewshire Child Protection Committee (RCPC) and staff across services have taken the recommendations very seriously.

"They have turned the recommendations into a comprehensive and realistic plan that targets systems and processes used by staff across services."

On progress towards meeting the 16 recommendations of the Significant Case Review, the inspectors state: "Most actions to meet the recommendations are progressing well, although some are at an early stage of implementation."

Among the changes reported in the review are for better communication between health and social work staff on child protection matters.

It also points out that Renfrewshire Community Health Partnership has written to GPs across the area highlighting guidance on their responsibilities in protecting vulnerable children.

Tim Huntingford, independent chairman of the RCPC, said: "Declan Hainey's murder was a tragedy. We have acted on all of the Significant Case Review recommendations and also to improve the protection provided to vulnerable children in Renfrewshire."

Mark Macmillan, leader of Renfrewshire Council, said: "The agencies involved have learned the lessons.

"And to make sure everything the council does is transparent and open to scrutiny, we will be asking the opposition members on the council to nominate one of their number to sit on the Renfrewshire Child Protection Committee. "

A major criticism of the review into Declan's case was that despite warnings from individual social workers about his mother's drug abuse, the youngster was never considered a child "at risk."

ewan.fergus@eveningtimes.co.uk