Interview: All together now - Ed Balls Secretary of State forChildren, Schools and Families

Prominent among the Children's Secretary's myriad concerns are the summer's spate of headline-grabbing killings of young people that have prompted debates of a national crisis.

"When a child is brutally murdered, our response has to be very tough. There's no place for gun and knife crime in our society," says Balls, stealing time for an exclusive interview with Children & Young People Now. And he admits his department's basket of policies don't contain the answer.

"It's hard to jump from extended schools, youth activities and parents being more involved in kids' education to heinous crimes involving guns and knives. Until we understand the real motivation it's a bit complacent to say these things alone will solve it."

It's 10 weeks since the Prime Minister's closest ally was catapulted into a Cabinet role whose creation he had lobbied for at the Treasury.

"I didn't know until the day before the reshuffle that it was going to be me taking it on," he claims. "We are putting children at the centre of all our thinking in policy across government," which he says mirrors the local-level integrated working called for in Every Child Matters.

Balls' domain is vast and sprawling. Children's health is shared with the Department of Health, drugs policy with the Home Office, youth sport with the Culture ministry - and thus far most problematic - youth justice with the Ministry of Justice under Jack Straw.

The search for a permanent chair at the Youth Justice Board was aborted over the summer because Balls wanted the job spec to more prominently address the role's crime prevention remit. He says the role will be re-advertised imminently. "I've had a number of conversations with Jack. We want to strengthen the role the youth justice system can play in preventing youth crime. We need to identify and support young people at risk of getting into trouble rather than wait for them to become criminals".

With the juvenile secure estate close to full capacity and no funding guarantees for local projects beyond the spring, the push for prevention is pressing.

Nevertheless, he lauds the joint preventive working under way at his constituency in Wakefield between the youth service and youth offending team. And he's ensured there are youth justice representatives in the age-related working groups involved in the consultation for the Children's Plan, which reports in November.

Also on the horizon are policies to involve fathers more in their children's education and act as role models. Balls read to year-4s at his local primary school for two hours a week for a year, instigated by the head teacher. "I'm looking closely over the next month to see if there's more we can do to get dads involved in school and after-school activities".

In the area of youth participation, Balls has an open mind about lowering the voting age to 16. But for the children's commissioner's "11 Million Takeover Day" on 23 November he promises to have a young person shadowing him - but not quite taking over. And on child protection, he refutes speculation that politicians' children will be excluded from the ContactPoint children's database, insisting his will be on the system.

What is clear throughout is Balls' commitment to see integrated working in practice. "The fact you are bringing together Children Now and Young People Now is a reflection of the thinking in setting up the new department," says Balls. "We need to have closer working with people involved in youth services, youth offending, social services but also early years, and education and health. If the magazine can help get people working closely together in future and make Every Child Matters genuinely work right across the birth to 19 age range, that will be a great contribution."

BACKGROUND SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS

- Ed Balls, 40, was educated at Nottingham High School, Keble College, Oxford and John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard

- He was economic adviser to Gordon Brown for 10 years before becoming the MP for Normanton in 2005

- In May 2007, while chief secretary to the Treasury, he announced a £340m three-year funding package for the families of disabled children

- Balls is married to housing minister Yvette Cooper and has three young children.