Councillors have blamed each other after watchdogs found South Gloucestershire social services are leaving some children at risk of “significant harm”.
Opposition groups took aim at the council’s Conservative administration for the “awful” failings highlighted by Ofsted in how the local authority deals with concerns from the public about youngsters’ safety.
But the ruling Tories hit back, saying all elected members should bear responsibility of being a “corporate parent”, with council leader Cllr Toby Savage accusing the Lib Dems and Labour of giving higher priority to “gender pronouns on email signatures” than to vulnerable kids.
Read more: Watchdog blasts council for leaving children at risk of 'significant harm'
Ofsted’s findings were revealed in a letter in December, following a two-day visit the previous month that focused on the so-called “front door” to South Gloucestershire Council's children’s services. It came two-and-a-half years after the service as a whole was judged as “requires improvement”.
It said: “Delays in children being seen, in the completion of assessments of their needs, and in carrying out child-protection enquiries mean that some children are left in situations of unassessed risk.
“For a few children, this has meant that they have been left in situations where they are known to be at risk of significant harm but are not receiving the help and support they need.”
Ofsted inspector Tracey Scott’s letter said the pace of improvement since 2019 had been “too slow” and in some areas the quality of work had “deteriorated”.
The council accepted the findings and promised to “significantly and swiftly” improve the “front door” access and response team, which handles and assesses calls from residents about child safety concerns.
A cabinet meeting on Monday, February 7, heard that an international recruitment drive had since been launched for 15 qualified social workers, a restructure of the service was under way to ensure staff had manageable caseloads and “significant” extra council money had been allocated.
Director of children, adults and health Chris Sivers told members: “It’s clearly a concerning result for us. We have taken swift action to address the concerns.”
Conservative cabinet member for children and young people Cllr Sam Bromiley said he was “disappointed and angry” that opposition groups had shown a “complete lack of interest”, during an earlier item on the meeting’s agenda, in the “significant” new investment the administration was making into children's services.
“We are all corporate parents for our looked-after children,” he said.
'Stop grandstanding'
“I urge all opposition councillors to stop grandstanding, be councillors, step up and play your role.”
Lib Dem group leader Cllr Claire Young said: “I can’t believe Cllr Bromiley’s ill-judged attempts to make a cheap political point on the back of the most vulnerable children in society.
“He has the temerity to complain the opposition are not taking the role seriously despite knowing this was later on the agenda and we would be hearing how often in seven years of Conservative majority rule the performance of this council’s children's services has deteriorated to such a level we are receiving a report from Osted that could only be described as woeful.
“The report makes clear that some children will be at risk of harm due to delays and ineffectiveness of dealing with their cases.”
She said none of the problems highlighted by Ofsted were new, including poor record keeping, inconsistent decision making, and the quality and timeliness of assessments, yet the situation was no better despite scrutiny councillors receiving reassurances that progress was being made.
After opposition councillors pressed Cllr Bromiley on when he could be confident children’s services were “no longer putting children at risk of harm”, he replied: “As soon as possible.”
The cabinet member added: “The result of the focused visit is disappointing but we are aware of the need for improvement and we were aware this was an area of weakness before the visit, hence the considerable investment in children’s services agreed at our October cabinet.
“Alongside this investment we are working to ensure we are monitoring progress and the pace of improvement closely.
“We know the risks of not having a good ‘front door’ and we will be learning from authorities who are ahead of us on this journey.”
Cllr Savage said opposition members needed to take more interest in the service’s performance.
“At scrutiny committee last week the administration received more questions about gender pronouns on email signatures than we did about the budget supporting our children’s services,” the council leader said.
“I would urge opposition members, for the sake of the most vulnerable children in South Gloucestershire, to please get a proper sense of priorities.”
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