South Wales Evening Post - 4 March 2009
An Assembly team is expected to be parachuted in to tackle Swansea’s failing social services department.
Assembly Minister Gwenda Thomas announced the possible move after a damning report on the department’s child services wing.
She says the Council is still failing the city’s children and action needs to be taken.
The department has been “under special measures” since an investigation sparked by the high profile death of baby Aaron Gilbert in 2005.
Now a team from the Assembly is likely to be sent in to take the service by the scruff of the neck and give direction to moves to improve services.
Mrs Thomas, the minister for Social Services, said one course of action could be to set up an intervention board to ensure children’s services in Swansea were “improved quickly and dramatically”.
If she decides to take that action, it will be the first time such a measure has been taken against a Welsh local authority.
She told the Assembly: “Its services remain inconsistent and prospects for improvement are uncertain.
“I am not prepared for social services for children to fall and remain below acceptable standards, and consider that the City and County of Swansea has failed to make sufficient progress to tackle the issues.
“I am aware of the fact that this is the first occasion when such an order might be issued in respect of a local authority in Wales, but feel that the circumstances are such that I must give very serious consideration to doing so”.
The failings in the department were highlighted in a report into Aaron’s death.
It criticised the department and put it under special measures with a remit to improve quickly.
But despite council reports that things were improving, Mrs Thomas has decided more action is needed.
She said she had written to Swansea Council outlining areas which need specific improvement. It has until March 18 to respond with plans to improve the department.
But if Mrs Thomas is not satisfied, she will set up an intervention board, consisting of a current or past director of social services, head of children’s social services, local authority chief executive and elected member in local government with experience of social services matters, as well as a lay chairman or woman.
In the statement, Mrs Thomas made clear blame for the service’s failings lay with the leadership, not the frontline staff, who she praised for their hard work under difficult circumstances.
She also said she wanted to see politics put aside for the sake of the children, urging all councillors to become “corporate parents”.
She said:”This leadership has not been adequate during the period when the protocol has been in place and there have been concerning examples of delay in tackling improvement areas an in establishing an improvement board to promote this work.
“There has also been evidence of insufficient coherence and focus across the authority, and I call upon all members of the authority, of whatever political complexion, to fulfil their responsibilities as a corporate parent for the children in its care,” she added.
Andrew Davies, AM for Swansea West, called the report a “sobering moment” for Swansea Council.
“I hope the further two weeks that the leadership of Swansea Council and the senior management of social services have been given by the minister will focus their attempts to turn this vital service around.
“We all have to work together to address the serious concerns highlighted by the Inspectors report and the Minister’s statement about Children’s Social Services in Swansea and to improve social services provision in our city”.
