Aberdeen City Council is making progress towards ensuring that vulnerable children are no longer left at risk by the failings of the system, Children�s Minister Adam Ingram said yesterday.
Aberdeen City Council is making progress towards ensuring that vulnerable children are no longer left at risk by the failings of the system, Children's Minister Adam Ingram said yesterday.
In November, the council was condemned by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE). It indicated that the service in the city was "unsatisfactory", the lowest category representing major weaknesses, in four of 18 quality indicators.
Ten were "weak", the second- poorest grade, and the last four were deemed "satisfactory", the fourth out of six grades.
Mr Ingram, who had expressed deep concern about the situation, visited the city yesterday to see first hand and assess the progress in resolving the problems.
"Making sure children are safe and secure is a fundamental responsibility of the council," he said. "I have had some good feedback, particularly in relation to reorganisation within the council. Integration of social work within the council will bring major improvements and is already significantly improving morale within the workforce.
"The major change so far is in terms of the structure . It was broken into three territorial divisions which was not the most efficient and effective way to organise social work and children's services.
"Reintegrating it into one functional service with clear lines of accountability and responsibility has brought about significant improvements."
He said there had been a significant increase in jobs and he had been encouraged by multi-agency working.
Social work expert Philip Cotterill, brought in to shake up the service, said he believed half of the 23 recommendations had now been implemented and good progress was being made on the remainder.
However, he explained that some of the issues being dealt with were very complex and deep seated. He praised staff, who he said were driven by trying to ensure that children in Aberdeen were safe.
Mr Ingram said: "We all have a duty to help keep children in Scotland safe and sound as they grow up. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring robust safeguards are in place for young people at risk and, to help ensure these are maintained, I recently announced a national review of child protection guidance.
"Scotland's child protection services already undergo rigorous inspections so that any issues can be spotted quickly and addressed immediately.
"We saw this in action in relation to Aberdeen where a number of serious concerns were raised early on by inspectors, allowing swift and decisive action to be taken."
Meanwhile, opposition MPs warned yesterday that Britain's most vulnerable children were still being failed after the government ordered an investigation following the deaths of seven youngsters.
Ministers launched a review of Doncaster Council's children's services department in response to "very serious" issues raised by an Ofsted inspection last month.
There are also concerns that seven children have died in the area since late 2004 in cases involving abuse or neglect. Serious case reviews have been commissioned to find out what mistakes were made in each instance, although so far only three have been completed.
The new inquiry into failings in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, follows the outcry over the death of 17-month-old Baby P at the hands of his mother, her boyfriend and their lodger in August 2007.
