Council says Vale social services are improving
The Vale of Glamorgan Council is reassuring its residents that
they can rely on the council’s social services to deliver. This
reassurance comes in response to the publication of the Local
Authority Performance report. Overall the council was a good
performer, providing many first class services, but the council
admits that some figures for its social services were not good when
the report was compiled. The good news is that since April
performance has vastly improved.
Taking children’s services as an example, Vale interim director
of social services, Mark Wheeler, explained: “The Vale is making
rapid headway towards achieving its social services targets for
2007-2008. Figures since April show in several areas we are meeting
our targets 100 per cent, including making plans for children in
our care and holding meetings for children on the child protection
register within official timescales.
“The percentage of children seen for initial assessments within
seven days, during the period 1 April to 31 August 2007, is over
twice the number reported for 2006 to 2007, increasing from 35.7
per cent to 75 per cent. The number of decisions made within one
day has shown a 90 per cent improvement between April and August
2007, increasing from 45.2 per cent to 85 per cent so that
decisions are now made on more than 8 children out of 10, within
the set timescale.”
Deputy leader of the council, Neil Moore, said: “In December the
current ruling group on the council, the Labour, Plaid Cymru and
Independent coalition, seized control of the council from the
Tories, because of the dire situation with the social services
overspend. We promised to ensure better management of social
services so that the service could be improved, while the budget
was also brought under control. Since then we have been working
towards that aim and the latest figures show that we are making
progress.
“Every council will tell you that social services is one of the
most complex and expensive services to provide. Our primary concern
is for the users of the service, who are often the most vulnerable
people in the Vale. We are doing everything we can to improve our
service and I want to thank staff for the effort they are putting
into improving performance. The recent Social Services Inspectorate
Wales report showed that improvements have been made. And the Vale
was found to provide a service equal to other Welsh councils. Along
with the Wales Audit Office, the Inspectorate has also praised the
council’s plans for social services.”
According to an unofficial league table compiled by the Western
Mail, using the figures from the Local Authority Performance
report, out of the 22 local authorities in Wales the Vale is the
joint third best.