5. What steps is the Welsh Government taking in relation to safeguarding children in Mid and West Wales? (OAQ51221)[W]

Public bodies give safeguarding of children the highest priority, and of course that is key to the Act, which is the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.

Thank you for that response, First Minister.

You’ll be aware that, under that law, the Minister today had to issue a statutory warning following a social services inspection of the children’s services in Powys. That report, published at midday today, makes very disturbing reading. If I can just quote a key paragraph for me:

‘There was a lack of assessment in child protection cases, a lack of a sexual exploitation risk assessment framework (SERAF) assessment and review contrary to statutory guidance, an absence of care and wellbeing assessment and a lack of management oversight of these cases.’

It then concludes:

‘The lack of assessment…is placing children at considerable risk.’

Considerable risk. Your Minister has given Powys local authority 20 days to come up with an intervention and improvement plan, and external people are in place, I understand, to help them to do that. But what assurances can you give to me and the people I represent that, in those 20 days, this considerable risk will be removed and that children and young people in Powys will be properly looked after? And what are you doing as a Government to ensure something else that’s in this report that is extremely disturbing to me, which is the lack of political commitment to children’s services in Powys?

Well, these are matters primarily for Powys council. There is a role for Ministers of course, which I’ll come to, but it does show that there has been a lack of leadership in Powys, and it shows—. I don’t disagree with what the report has said in terms of there not being enough political commitment to children’s services. What then is the role of Government? We’ve issued the warning notice. It is an unprecedented step. It provides the rigour and impetus to ensure that Powys delivers the improvements that are needed to its services. Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales will be monitoring, as will we, very, very closely, but let me be clear: if we don’t see prompt and sustained improvements, we will be minded to consider increased intervention, which may well include taking over the authority’s social services functions.

I too am appalled to read this report today, and it all really does come down to lack of leadership in management, and it’s clear that it’s political leadership that’s been lacking. We all know that children are very often the most vulnerable within our society, and they do deserve at least a minimum commitment to them in the delivery of the services, as do the staff. There are staff working in this field in Powys today who are trying their very, very best to do a good job, and yet they’re being completely undermined, according to this report, by the lack of investment in them and in those services they’re trying to deliver. So, my question to you, First Minister, is whether you will support the call for Powys councillors to finally get their act together, to stop talking and to act collectively for the well-being of the children. Also, the next question, following through: if it is the case that the council cannot prove that they are taking the appropriate action in the given timescale that has been put to them by the Minister, will it be the case that the Government will move in and direct those services to deliver for the most vulnerable within Powys?

Ultimately, of course, it is open to us as a Government to take over the authority’s social services functions. That is, of course, an option if the authority fails to deliver under the terms of the warning notice, and that is something, certainly, that we will be monitoring closely over the next few days. I can give Members the assurance that this will receive the fullest attention of both Welsh Government and CSSIW, and no option is ruled out if compliance is not achieved.

First Minister, you will be aware of the sad case of Seren Bernard in my constituency, who committed suicide in 2012 whilst under the care of Pembrokeshire County Council social services. I saw her mother some weeks ago to discuss the report of Pembrokeshire council into this case, and this report isn’t to be published for legal reasons. It is important that issues such as this are dealt with in an open and transparent manner, so that lessons can be learnt by local authorities. So, following on from Simon Thomas’s questions, what specific guidance will you, as Government, publish to local authorities in cases such as this to ensure that lessons are learnt in order to safeguard more children in the future?

I would encourage the authority to consider publishing the report, possibly by redacting some parts of the report. We do this as a Government, because we always start from a position of wishing to publish. I understand that, due to legal reasons, it’s not possible to publish everything, but it’s important that the authority doesn’t say, ‘We will not publish anything for legal reasons.’ It’s important that they reconsider to see what they can publish, and then of course to retract whatever’s problematic legally.