Council boss backs calls for national child care inquiry

Aberdeen City Council’s chief executive yesterday backed calls for a national inquiry into child protection services, despite government inspectors hailing “significant improvements” at the authority.

Sue Bruce said a Scotland-wide inquiry would help all public bodies understand the true scale of the task facing social work departments in the country.

Labour and Conservative MSPs called for the probe this week after publication of a damning government inspection report into child protection services in Dundee.

HM Inspectorate of Education’s (HMIE) findings for the city mirrored weaknesses and failures identified in Moray, and in Aberdeen last year.

Mrs Bruce said: “I think a national inquiry would help all of us tasked with serving the public to understand the scope and scale of referrals requiring support.

“The findings of that would help identify best practice for the future.”

The council’s outgoing social work director Philip Cotterill was recruited by the authority to overhaul its services following last year’s damning Social Work Inspection Agency report, and to address failings identified by HMIE in its Aberdeen report in November.

He also backed an inquiry, saying: “I welcome any debate on social work.”

The pair were responding to HMIE’s follow-up report on child protection services in Aberdeen, which identified “significant improvements” in leadership and direction. Mr Cotterill, who is to be replaced by Fred McBride, head of children’s services in Dundee – a department criticised in this week’s inspection report – said children in the city were safer now than in November.

“The answer is yes, children are at less risk than prior to that report coming out, but what I am also saying is that there will always be risk,” he said.

“We have been working very diligently to get organisation changes in place which have an impact on the wellbeing of children.

“We have completed a review of the way we work but there is still much to do.

“Our environment does not stand still.”

The troubleshooter said one example of the changes was that there was now one point of access to child protection services in Aberdeen, whereas before there had been about 10.

Outgoing city council leader Kate Dean welcomed HMIE’s findings.

“While this one comes very close on the heels of the previous one, I do believe very significant progress has been shown,” she said.