Intervention board withdrawn from Swansea

Swansea children’s services has had its intervention board withdrawn after a positive report published by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales.

“The CSSIW report highlights that there have been substantial improvements,” said Gwenda Thomas, deputy minister for social services.

These included staff morale and support from managers, staffing numbers, corporate and political leadership and the restructuring of the service to benefit the most vulnerable young children.

As a result, the report said, overall performance had improved in the majority of areas, including reducing the time taken to carry out initial assessments and core assessments. There was also a rise in the number of child protection reviews held on time and an increase in the number of looked-after children allocated to qualified social workers.

Thomas said she also received positive feedback from the intervention board, which said Swansea had come “a considerable way” since the order was made in spring 2009.

Nick Tregoning, cabinet member for social services, welcomed the decision.

“Our priority has always been to protect the most vulnerable young people in our communities. We know there is more to do and our determination to bring further improvements remains as great as ever,” he said.

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