16 May 2003
Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council is failing to meet its statutory duties to vulnerable children, and its services for adults are in need of 'radical overhaul', inspectors have found.
A damning report on the Welsh authority, following a joint review by the Audit Commission and the Social Services Inspectorate for Wales, condemned Blaenau for 'failing local people'.
Inspectors found 'unacceptable weaknesses' in children's services: the authority 'does not have a reliable up-to-date record of the numbers and placement location of children looked after'.
The report also criticised the council's financial management. 'It is based on short-term problem-solving rather than long-term strategy, and budgets are not based on accurate information, making them unrealistic from the outset.'
Services for adults were also slated for failing to provide clients with choices. They did nothing to help people live independently and relied too heavily on residential care, the report found.
Malcolm Newsam, assistant director of joint reviews, said social services in Blaenau were in need of 'urgent attention'. He added: 'This is a wake-up call to the council.'
But council leader John Hopkins said the authority was aware of its failings and was trying to get to grips with them. 'Many of the innovations and improvements were in place at the time of the review but could not be assessed as they had not been operating for a sufficient length of time.'
However, children's charity NCH Cymru came to the defence of Blaenau. Chief executive Graham Illingworth said: 'They are always keen to work in partnership to ensure that innovative and quality services have been developed for the benefit of children.'
PFmay2003
