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Mayor to quit as childcare hit squad moves in
SOCIAL services troubleshooters will be drafted into a beleaguered Yorkshire council after its child protection department was branded inadequate in an urgent Government review.
Doncaster Council has been at the centre of a scandal since late last year when it was revealed that seven children had died despite coming into contact with the authority's social workers.
Yesterday, the town's elected mayor, Martin Winter, announced he would not seek re-election in June in the wake of the shock findings, but refused to apologise or step down immediately.
A team from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) led by former Kirklees Council chief executive Tony Elson, has now been appointed by the Government to "drive improvements".
In a letter sent to Mayor Winter yesterday, Children's Minister Beverley Hughes outlined her concerns over the "seriousness of the inadequate performance" in children's services at Doncaster Council.
Ms Hughes said: "Doncaster's children's services remain fragile, vulnerable children are not well-served and sustained urgent action is needed to ensure children and young people in Doncaster are safe.
"The lack of a strong and settled management team, ineffective political management and weak local partnerships are some of the critical underlying reasons for the current problems in Doncaster."
The DCSF review, which was carried out by Lord Laming, was ordered by Ms Hughes after several child protection scandals, including the death of Baby P in Haringey and the seven deaths in Doncaster.
One of the most shocking cases in the South Yorkshire borough was that of Amy Howson, who died after her father snapped her spine. James Howson, 25, was convicted of the murder last October and jailed for life.
Doncaster Council's child protection failings led to the authority being one of only four in the country to be given the lowest one-star rating by the Audit Commission, alongside Haringey, Surrey and Milton Keynes.
Speaking in Doncaster after the report was published Martin Winter said: "We have judged ourselves as inadequate and asked the Government for support. The council will be working closely with Tony Elson to ensure improvements are made."
The Yorkshire Post understands that Mr Elson, who was also Kirklees's director of social services, was told of his appointment at 8pm on Wednesday – illustrating the urgent nature of the DCSF action in Doncaster.
Mr Elson, who qualified as a child protection social worker in Birmingham in 1972 and moved to Kirklees in 1988, said: "I will be meeting with my colleagues in Doncaster, and on Monday I will meet with officials from the DCSF in London to agree on the form the improvement board will take and who will be on it. We will be working out some practical arrangements and setting the wheels in motion.
"A lot of it is going to be about building confidence and building on strengths that already exist because it's not a completely bleak picture at Doncaster.
"It's a council that has worked hard and made improvements and is making sure they follow through on them."
Lord Laming's report, published at lunchtime yesterday, concluded not enough lessons have been learned from the death of Victoria Climbie six years ago. The report revealed 55 children died at the hands of someone they knew in 2007/08 – more than in any of the previous four years.
Lord Laming called for urgent action to address areas of concern including better training for social workers and more communication between different agencies involved in looking after children at risk.
He said the death of any child was "a reproach to all of us" and said although the child protection systems put in place by the Government were good, they had not been implemented well enough in many areas.
Last night Children's Secretary Ed Balls said: "When we read the expert's report this week we judged we needed a quite substantial intervention.
"Two weeks ago I said we were encouraged that in Doncaster the authority had faced up to and started to address some of the challenges it faced. That was different to what had happened in Haringey but at the same time the expert diagnostic report does conclude at all levels there are significant weaknesses. It does require a root and branch change."
He added: "We will take the action which is needed to ensure the safety of children."
Main points of damning study
Doncaster Council's children's services judged "inadequate" and "fragile" after Laming Review.
Doncaster mayor Martin Winter announces he will not seek re-election when his term of office ends in June.
Improvement Board to be appointed at Doncaster Council in an attempt to increase the "pace of improvement".
Board to be led by Tony Elson, former chief executive and director of social services at Kirklees Council.
Laming report calls for better training for social workers and better implementation of child protection systems by councils.
Children's Secretary Ed Balls vows "root and branch" changes at Doncaster Council in wake of findings.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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