Restructure led to staff uncertainties

A six-month delay in a planned restructure of
Haringey social services that would have halved the number of team
manager posts from 12 to six created a strained atmosphere, a
social work manager told the inquiry.

Dave Duncan, commissioning manager at Haringey
social services at the time of Victoria’s case, said that the
interviews for the six team manager jobs did not take place until
September 1999, six months after the restructure was announced. The
delay led to team managers not knowing how long they would have a
job and social workers not knowing who their managers would be.

Duncan, who was responsible for supervising
Carole Baptiste, Lisa Arthurworrey’s original team manager, told
the inquiry: “I have consistently asked myself whether Carole
Baptiste was a good enough manager and whether I supervised her
well enough and I have doubts about that.”