Wright is to leave Norfolk

The director of social services at the centre of the Lauren
Wright case has announced he is to step down, writes
Janet Snell.

David Wright, who has headed up Norfolk social services for the
last 12 years, is to take early retirement in November,
writes Janet Snell.

The council’s chief executive, Tim Byles, paid tribute to Wright
saying he had steered the authority through some difficult
times.

“It is no secret that the tragic death of Lauren Wright had a
profound impact on the social services department as a whole and on
David in particular.

“It would have been very easy for David to retire then. It is a
mark of the man that he accepted full responsibility for social
services mistakes and vowed to stay on to make sure that staff were
not left at a low point without a leader, and that the necessary
improvements were put in place,” he said.

David Wright qualified as a social worker in 1969 initially
working in mental health. He has chaired the Russian European
Trust, aimed at sharing European good practice in social work with
Russia, since 1993.