Corner of Scotland where children left at risk

A WATCHDOG has warned that it is “not confident” vulnerable children and young people in one part of Scotland are being kept safe.

Annette Bruton, the Care Inspectorates chief executive. Picture: Complimentary

The Care Inspectorate said that some youngsters in need of protection in Dumfries and Galloway “remain at risk for too long”.

It has called for urgent action to ensure children and young people in the area are protected.

The findings are included in the Care Inspectorate’s report on the work of the Dumfries and Galloway Community Planning Partnership, which comprises the council, police, health board and others.

The report states: “Based on the findings, inspectors are not confident that all children and young people are receiving timely and effective help to keep them safe.

“Community Planning Partners should, as a matter of urgency, work together to ensure that children and young people are protected.”

The inspection awarded grades across nine key quality indicators, three of which were classed as weak.

One indicator on “assessing and responding to risks and needs and planning for individual children” was deemed 
“unsatisfactory”.

Inspectors found that while staff take action to secure the safety of most children and young people when they are at risk of significant harm, they do not always recognise the seriousness or immediacy of risks. This leads to an “inconsistent” response.

Staff tend to view new concerns in isolation rather than look at the chronology of events, which means that some children remain in situations which place them at risk for too long, the report found.

The Care Inspectorate, which led the inspection in partnership with other agencies, will now ask the Community Planning Partnership to publish a joint action plan, detailing how it intends to make improvements. Inspectors will revisit the area in the next six months to report on progress.

Annette Bruton, the Care Inspectorate’s chief executive, said: “This report sets out clear areas where improvement is required urgently.”

The Community Planning Partnership said it had already undertaken urgent action. Chair Ronnie Nicholson said: “The community planning partners fully accept the hard messages in this report and I am pleased immediate action has been taken.

“These actions include the appointment of an independent chair to the child protection committee. The new chair will lead on the necessary improvements to children’s services. There is no more important responsibility than protecting children and young people.”

Chief Superintendent Kate Thomson said: “Police Scotland accepts the findings. In partnership with those in the Community Planning Partnership our priority now must be to work through the action plan that has already been developed, ensuring that the services we provide in Dumfries and Galloway keep children safe.”