Bedfordshire faces withering criticism

Vulnerable children are still not being protected by Bedfordshire
Council, according to a damning Social Services Inspectorate report
released this week.

It finds that the zero-rated department’s children’s services have
a number of “deeply rooted” problems and says the Victoria Climbi’
Inquiry “had not had a significant impact on child
protection”.

Services in child protection were weakened by poor supervision,
which “increased the likelihood that children would fall through
the net,” the report finds. Looked-after children received
“unsatisfactory” and “inadequate” support from the council, and
planning on many cases was “non-existent”.

The report concludes that very little progress has been made to
address the “serious deficiencies” highlighted by a similar
inspection in June 2002, after which the department was placed
under special measures and intensive supervision by the SSI.

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