Aberdeen’s new social work chief defended

Aberdeen City Council has defended the appointment of its new social work director in the wake of a damning report on child protection services in Dundee where he is currently employed.

Fred McBride, 48, heads children’s services at Dundee City Council, which is today severely criticised for its failure to protect youngsters.

HM Inspectorate of Education officials condemned it for failing to take action to protect vulnerable children until their circumstances had reached “crisis levels”.

Their report published today – the first since the tragic death of toddler Brandon Muir in Dundee last March – revealed a litany of weaknesses and failures.

Inspectors, who brought forward the report by three months at the behest of SNP ministers, said they had “no confidence” that all youngsters at risk of harm, abuse and neglect are protected.

They found “major weaknesses” in the help children are given in immediate response to safety concerns.

Inspectors described the leadership of services run by Dundee City Council, Tayside Police and NHS Tayside as weak. The indictment also applied to policies, procedures and planning.

A spokesman for Aberdeen City Council said Mr McBride, who commissioned an investigation into the death of Brandon Muir, was appointed to the £107,000-a-year post after going through an “extremely rigorous” recruitment process.

Mr McBride, who officially leaves his post in Dundee on Friday after four years, is expected to take up his post in Aberdeen later this summer.

A follow-up inspection report of social work services in Aberdeen is expected to be published by HM Inspectorate of Education tomorrow.

The report into Dundee’s child protection services, one of the worst in Scotland alongside criticism of services in Aberdeen last year and Moray in February, graded eight of the 18 performance categories as weak. Six categories were rated as satisfactory, one as unsatisfactory and three as good. No aspect of the service, which is also delivered by the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration and voluntary and independent organisations, was graded excellent or very good.

The inspectors, who visited Dundee in February and March, found some youngsters had been removed from the child protection register “without clear evidence that the identified risks to their safety had been reduced”.

Public awareness of child protection issues was also described as satisfactory.

Children’s Minister Adam Ingram said: “While this report does not look specifically into the death of little Brandon, it plainly shows that child protection services in Dundee are simply not good enough and must be urgently improved.”

Alan Baird, chairman of the Dundee children and young persons protection committee, admitted there were “gaps” in the service and everyone involved accepted joint responsibility.

Robert Cunningham, 23, ex-partner of Brandon Muir’s mother, Heather Boyd, is serving 10 years in prison for culpable homicide. Two separate investigations into the circumstances are under way.