Oral Statement - Children’s Social Services in Swansea

Assembly Members will recall my announcement in 2009 that the City and County of Swansea Council was in default of its responsibilities under the Children Act 2004 without reasonable excuse and that I made an order to that effect. Since 2009, I have kept Members updated on progress and of the findings from inspections undertaken by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales. Earlier this year, I was able to report that CSSIW had advised me that real green shoots of recovery were appearing. There was evidence of progress and good practice, including in relation to leadership, by front-line staff and a commitment to resource the frontline to cope with the increased demand being faced by children’s social services. However, there remained inconsistencies in the services being provided and a concern about sustainability. In light of this, I confirmed that I strongly believed that the interests of children in Swansea would be best served by the order I made remaining in force.I said that the chief inspector would undertake a reality check in September and provide me with a report on the progress made. CSSIW’s report has been published today.

The order I made declared that the City and County of Swansea was in default of its statutory responsibilities without reasonable excuse. The CSSIW report highlights that there have been substantial improvements, and I am advised by the chief inspector that the factors leading to my decision to declare the authority in default of its statutory responsibilities without reasonable excuse have been addressed and are no longer evident. This does not mean however that no further improvements are required. CSSIW’s work evidences areas where the authority needs to continue to further improve practice and performance, and it is important that it continues to focus its attention on these.

I have also received positive feedback from the intervention board, which was established to provide supportive scrutiny to the council. In its view, Swansea has come a considerable way since the order was made. It has been on a real learning journey, and the board’s view is that, although there will always be the relentless and difficult challenge to get it right every day, there is a real sense of momentum and priority around children’s services in Swansea. In light of the CSSIW evidence and the views of the intervention board, I am pleased to say that I have concluded that the order should be revoked.  

I want to put on record my thanks to the intervention board and the inspectorate for their work over the past 18 months. Critical to the successful outcome has been the willingness of members of the board, under the chairmanship of His Honour Judge Graham Jones, to apply their skills and experience to support the authority to achieve service transformation. I am also aware of the additional burden that the inspections and support have placed upon the inspectorate.  

I want to mentionspecifically the excellent cross-party work that has been undertaken by the child and family overview and scrutiny board, made up of Councillors Mark Child, Paxton Hood-Williams and Nick Tregoning. The fact that members of all parties have been able to put politics to one side in the best interests of the children of Swansea is to be applauded. The role of elected members as corporate parents is of central importance and must be given the highest priority. Only with true partnership can that priority be achieved. I therefore welcome the cross-party consensus that has been established in Swansea. I believe that there are lessons that we and other authorities could learn from the way in which parties have pulled together to provide effective political stewardship.

There will be a need for Swansea to sustain the improvements it has made and that will take some time. Systems and resources are now in place and need to remain in place, as does the political consensus that has been achieved. There will be challenges ahead, as there will be for all authorities in the current climate. Numbers of looked-after children in Swansea are extremely high and there is concern that the demand for services is unsustainable. At these times, it is essential that we work together in partnership to share learning and explore alternative ways of working. Swansea has been on a difficult journey and now needs to capture the learning from that journey, consolidate the improvements and take the opportunity to share its learning with other authorities. It is not a time to rest on laurels; as always, there is still much to be done in the pursuit of excellent practice.

As you will know, I believe firmly in the partnership model and in social services, education, health, the police and others working together to deliver effective and safe services for children. One of the significant steps that I have taken to support my belief has been to legislate for the establishment of multi-disciplinary teams to drive forward our integrated family support services policy. I have received a letter from Swansea’s director of social services, expressing that,

'There would now be a very real benefit if Child and Family Services and partners could now be part of the developments that are taking place in respect of the integrated family support services.’

The intervention board is supportive of this view. I believe that we have an opportunity to build on the excellent work that has been done and that the professional management at the heart of children’s social services means that Swansea is in a good place to contribute as a pioneer. An integrated family support services team would be complimentary to the changes that have been introduced and would help to embed these. I have, therefore, asked officials to advise me on this.

Finally, I want to give thanks to the dedication and professionalism of the staff in Swansea. Without their commitment, this transformation would not have been achieved and neither will it be sustained. I remain convinced that the decision to use our statutory powers was, and the decision to revoke the order today is, most certainly in the best interests of the children of Swansea.