Council respond to appointment of government commissioner to review children’s services

Sefton Council have said they welcome the appointment of a government commissioner to review children’s services on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education.

The review will seek to decide whether Sefton Council has the “capacity and capability to secure rapid and sustainable improvements”, or whether the Department should be taken out of Sefton Council’s control.

Martin Birch, Director of Children’s Services and Education at Sefton Council said: “We welcome the appointment of a commissioner, and appreciate the support and challenge that this role will bring.

“Since the Ofsted inspection was carried out, we have already started to work on the feedback in the report, and are developing an improvement action plan which will be published late Summer this year.

“We understand that the Commissioner will review our plans and capacity to improve and will work alongside the DfE Advisor who has been in place since July 2021.

“The next step will be to continue working with our Improvement Board and support from the Department of Education (DfE) to deliver our action plan to address the recommendations made. The DfE are supporting the Council with resources and advisors, and a review of our capacity will be undertaken by the DfE during 2022.

“Of course, there is still much work to, but we are confident that with our committed workforce, and the significant financial investment that the Council has recently committed to Children’s Services, our ambitious plans can be delivered, and improvements made at pace.

“We are hopeful that the commissioner will see a marked improvement in the delivery of our services each time they visit.”

Cllr Mhairi Doyle MBE, Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care, said: “In his letter to Sefton Council the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families said that he recognises the challenges that local authorities face in delivering effective children’s social care services.

“These challenges have been magnified over the last 2 years, with demand for Children’s Services at unprecedented levels.

“It is no secret that most local authorities continue to face severe financial challenges. We have made a call on Government, along with leaders from across the Liverpool City Region, to tackle growing issues nationally with the recruitment and retention of children’s social workers as these present a significant challenge not just in our region, but across other parts of the country.

“I hope that the Commissioner is able to appreciate how this compounds an already difficult operating environment, and I look forward to working with them to tackle the many challenges we face, so that children in Sefton benefit from the best services possible, making sure they are safe, protected and inspired to reach their full potential.”