Can’t hide from the awful truth

Editorial

Swansea’s social services department is failing the children of Swansea.

In a damning and extremely disappointing announcement, Assembly Social Services Minister Gwenda Thomas says that despite “special measures” being put in place in 2007, the department is still performing below “acceptable standards”.

Special measures were introduced two years after the death of Aaron Gilbert. Toddler Aaron died at the hand of his mother and step-father. The evil pair were punished in the courts, but the net was thrown wider and the local authority came in for huge criticism.

The minister is threatening to send in a hit squad if Swansea Council doesn’t come up with a small miracle in two weeks. Since it hasn’t managed to improve in the last 18 months, it’s unlikely to show a sea change in the next fifteen days, so we can assume that the hit squad is on the way.

When the team arrives, there will be nowhere left to hide. For the sake of the city’s vulnerable children, party politics must be pushed aside and everyone concerned must be completely pushed aside and everyone concerned must be completely open and honest about what has gone wrong and what needs to be done to put it right.