05 September 2008
An internal report has produced a damning indictment of Cardiff Council children's services, which are likely to miss all but two of 20 main performance targets for 2008/09.
The report, by the authority's children and young people scrutiny committee, highlighted problems in finding adoption placements and in the allocation of social workers to children in care.
The situation, which came to light on September 3, could force the Welsh Assembly Government — which monitored the social services department for four years after a severely critical inspection report in 2002 — to step in again,
John Dixon, the council's executive member for social care and health, said the council had made 'consistent and sustained improvements' over the past two years.
'The first quarter's figures don't make comfortable reading,' he added, 'but there have been exceptional pressures – about a 20% increase in referrals at the same time as a significant number of new social work recruits were starting.'
PFsep2008
