Major review after scathing at-risk report

Published on Wednesday 24 June 2009 21:50

A SCOTTISH local authority is set to approve a 30-point action plan to address serious failings in child protection services identified in a scathing report by the national watchdog.

Dundee city councillors are also being asked to approve the creation of a working group to spearhead root-and-branch reform of services to protect children at risk through a "best value" review.

On Tuesday, a report published by HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIe) listed a litany of failures by the city council and other agencies in Dundee to protect vulnerable children from "significant harm" in the homes of drug addicts and alcoholics.

The publication of the report was accelerated following the death of 23-month-old Brandon Muir, the toddler killed by his mother's heroin-addict boy-friend, Robert Cunningham.

Investigators from the inspectorate said they had "no confidence" that young people at risk in Dundee were being fully protected and condemned front-line services for their failure to help many youngsters until their plight had reached crisis point.

The city council yesterday revealed that a detailed improvement plan, aimed at tackling the various weaknesses highlighted in the HMIe report, would be considered next Wednesday at a meeting of the authority's policy and resources committee.

Under the improvement plan, the council, NHS Tayside and Tayside Police will be committed to working together to strengthen services to protect children and young people in the city.

Councillor Ken Guild, the convener of the policy and resources committee, said: "The HMIe report identified in detail areas of policy and practice that need to be improved to ensure public confidence. This improvement plan, which will be closely monitored at the highest levels of the three partner organisations, proposes more than 30 separate actions to be taken jointly or as individual bodies.

"But we are planning to go further by implementing a best-value review of child-protection services in the city, which will tackle the concerns of the inspectors as they relate to all of the child-protection services in Dundee."

He claimed: "It will be wide-ranging, thorough, fit for purpose and, above all, when it is implemented will deliver significant improvements."

A council spokesman explained: "The best-value review will consider the future development, delivery, evaluation and monitoring of child-protection services in Dundee and monitor progress of implementation of the wider improvement plan."

He added: "The best-value review group will include at least seven councillors and officers of Dundee city council, Tayside Police, Dundee Children's Panel, the Scottish Children's Reporters Administration, NHS Tayside and representatives of the voluntary sector.

"Monthly meetings of the chief officers of each of the partner organisations will make sure that the improvement plan is being put into practice."

Meanwhile, a new report issued by the education watchdog yesterday praised the progress being made by Aberdeen city council in its efforts to improve children's services following a damning inspection report eight months ago.

The HMIe report, issued last November, revealed that vulnerable youngsters had been left in high-risk situations because of failings of the child-protection system in Aberdeen.

But the follow-up report states: "Very encouragingly, there had been an acceptance of a shared responsibility across services for improving child-protection services.

"An encouraging start had been made to ensuring safe alternative care arrangements were provided for all children identified as living in situations which are unsafe."