Social Services report: Councillor Len Clark's summary
This is the summary presented by Cllr Len Clark at the front of his report into the failings of Birmingham Social Services.
Many of the findings of this Inquiry report into children’s social care may not make comfortable reading for the Council. This is not by intent.
Rather, it is the result of the intensive and forensic exploration of the evidence presented to the Inquiry, supported by authoritative independent audit reports.
The conclusions and recommendations herewith were unanimously agreed by Inquiry Members and no challenge to the findings has been presented by the Council Executive or any of the principal contributors, all of whom have been consulted.
This is not an alternative report to that produced in response to the Improvement Notice.
Clearly challenges of this magnitude did not emerge overnight. Unfortunately Birmingham’s children’s social care service has a history of underperformance over the past decade.
The difficulties in children’s social care are systemic and deeply ingrained so there is no quick fix. We need to face up now to the task of getting things right for the future.
Whilst there is a need for urgent action in the short term to deal with the most pressing issues, the remit of the Inquiry is not just about what needs to be done immediately to satisfy the Department for Children, Schools and Families, but it is about sustainable progress in the longer term.
It is about asking the question, in the light of our history of underperformance, how do we make sure that these improvements are sustained and embedded?
Whilst there has been progress in terms of meeting the requirements of the Improvement Notice, I am of the opinion that if the fundamental performance issues highlighted in this report are not addressed purposefully it is unlikely that the short term improvements made will be sustained.
I acknowledge that many of the issues identified by the Inquiry are national issues and will require progress to be made by the national Social Work Task Force.
Nevertheless, the national context applies to all local authorities and Birmingham’s relative performance in comparison to other authorities has not been good.
I want our recommendations to act as a catalyst to ensure that children’s social care is given the priority it needs and deserves to put it on a firm footing for the future.
Fundamentally addressing these very serious concerns in respect of children’s social care services in Birmingham must finally be an issue of priorities for the Cabinet.
Failure to tackle these issues will mean that our most vulnerable children and families pay a heavy price.
