News

The Victoria Climbie Report's key recommendation has received a lukewarm response from the Association of Directors of Social Services.

The ADSS says that the creation of a local management board for children and families does "not sit easily with the structures that will be in place in most local authorities".

ADSS president David Behan said that, while directors welcomed Lord Laming's desire to embed the accountability of councillors responsible for children's services into the structures, this could be best done through scrutiny by the local authority cabinet system.


He also said there was an assumption that a large number of the recommendations related to simple issues of best practice and could be easily achieved. But, he said, it was not clear whether the resources existed to implement them.

The ADSS also said that if area child protection committees were abolished, they should be replaced by similar bodies with greater statutory responsibilities.