In his address to the first meeting of the Social Work Taskforce, Balls said he intended to implement Laming's recommendations with "speed and determination".
Defending his decision to intervene in Haringey following the Baby P case, Balls refuted claims his actions were fuelled by the media and said, based on the same evidence, he would do the same again.
He also said it was the government's responsibilty to turn around the loss of morale and self-confidence among the social work profession.
"We have to find a way to find a way to boost social work further by making it a Masters level profession," Balls explained.
"Social workers are the unsung heroes of our country and we're not going to settle for anything less than the best for our children and for our social workers too."
The Social Work Taskforce was set up to investigate social work practice, training and recruitment.
Balls said the taskforce had an important role to play in speaking up for social workers and identifying any barriers facing the profession.
He also strongly reiterated his opposition to publishing serious case reviews in full, despite calls from the Conservative Party to do so.
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