Star and Arthur: MPs' 'extreme' concern at councils over child deaths

A group of MPs remains "extremely concerned" about council failings in areas where two children were murdered.

The Education Select Committee wrote to Education Secretary Kit Malthouse raising concerns following the deaths of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes in Solihull and Star Hobson in Bradford in 2020.

Both local councils were criticised after Star and Arthur were killed and the MPs expressed doubts about their ability to improve children's services.

Their letter demanded "accountability".

"The deaths of Arthur and Star were harrowing," said Robert Halfon, Conservative chair of the committee.

"Both Bradford and Solihull Councils' children's services were in dire need of improvements even before the lockdowns. Action was not taken and two children lost their lives."

Six-year-old Arthur was murdered in June 2020 by his step-mother Emma Tustin, who poisoned, starved and beat him during lockdown. Arthur's father Thomas Hughes was also found culpable for his death.

Star was 16 months old when she was murdered by her mother's girlfriend Savannah Brockhill in September 2020. Her mother Frankie Smith was convicted of causing or allowing her death.

A national review published in May found families' concerns about the children were disregarded and not taken seriously enough.

In June, Mr Halfon criticised Solihull and Bradford councils for "taking so long" to reform their children's services.

The committee's letter to Mr Malthouse now questions whether Solihull Council's chief executive Nick Page and Bradford Council's chief executive Kersten England are "best placed to continue to lead and oversee the state of children's services in both authorities".

Both Mr Page and Ms England have previously spoken about considering their positions but said they felt a responsibility to oversee improvements.

The letter called on ministers to ensure commitments from the council bosses were followed through.

"The new education secretary must prioritise the vulnerable children currently being failed by these authorities and take the steps to ensure targets for improvement are being met, and fast," Mr Halfon said.

"There must be accountability and it is essential that the leaders responsible for the most at-risk children in our society are up to the job."

A Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson said it had "already intervened extensively" at the councils to "address weaknesses".

"We cannot be complacent when it comes to protecting vulnerable children and will not hesitate to take additional steps to drive swift improvement," it continued.

"We are working on a bold plan for wide-scale reform in children's social care which we will publish later this year."

Bradford Council said it was "working well" with the DfE and making "good progress".

"It is a matter of public record that we acknowledge and fully accept the findings of the National Panel report into the horrific deaths of Star and Arthur," the authority said.

"As a council we are clear about the actions we need to take to improve services and make sure that children in our district are safe.

"We are implementing these at pace," it added, pointing to a recent Ofsted monitoring visit which it said "highlighted recent improvements in the delivery of services".

The chief executive of Solihull Council said improvements had been made at the authority and that he was determined to continue to lead efforts for further change.

"It would be too easy to walk away now, particularly with this level of criticism, however, I honestly feel I am best placed to work with colleagues and partners to address the issues we face," said Nick Page.

"Changing leadership now would be detrimental to the improvement journey we are on," he added.

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