Herefordshire children's services improvements 'could take some time'

Herefordshire's Children's Services were condemned by a high court judge in 2021

Work to improve Herefordshire's beleaguered children's services could take some time, the councillor in charge has admitted.

On Wednesday, a report by a government appointed commissioner said the county was "just beginning to see some slight improvements".

But it added the authority did not "have the capability or capacity" to improve in a reasonable timeframe.

Councillor Ivan Powell said improvement had started from a "very low base".

The commissioner, Eleanor Brazil, has been working with the council for more than a year after Ofsted rated the service inadequate in all areas, citing "widespread and serious failures" across a "fragmented and chaotic" offer, including weak response to missing children and poor understanding of risk.

The authority has had millions of pounds of government support to turn things around.

But despite the measures, Ms Brazil's report said issues in children's services were "long-standing", with little confidence any improvement would be sustained.

She said: "The impact on too many children and families of a legacy of poor practice, staff turnover, high numbers of agency staff and inconsistent leadership has been very negative."

The council was told, however, that children's services would remain under the control of the authority for the next six months to allow it to demonstrate that it could deliver change.

Speaking on BBC Hereford and Worcester, Mr Powell welcomed the development and said it would help with recruitment to have that assurance.

He also thanked the commissioner for a "fair and balanced report".

Eleanor Brazil was appointed by the government to help Herefordshire Council

Mr Powell, who took on the role of cabinet member for children and young people in May, said he recognised the frustration of service users and accepted the authority had "significant ground to make up".

He said an improvement plan had been agreed 12 months ago, but "recruitment is a particular issue".

He also said: "There is no one set clear timeframe because there are elements within the action plan that can be delivered in a fairly straightforward and timely way and there are others that are going to take time."

But he said the report had noted progress in some areas.