Northamptonshire children's services 'worst, yet most expensive'

Commissioners overseeing a crisis-hit council said its children's services was "one of the worst-performing yet most expensive in the country".

Tony McArdle and Brian Roberts were appointed by the government to oversee Conservative-run Northamptonshire County Council in 2018.

In a report, written in October, but only just published, they said children's services were "chaotic".

But the authority said the department was "on an improvement journey".

The report said the recovery of children's services was "fundamental to the recovery of the council, and ultimately, the viability of the new unitary councils".

Northamptonshire County Council, along with district and borough councils, will be replaced by two unitary authorities in April 2021.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the report states: "Poor performance and the chaotic conditions under which [children's services] operates are key reasons why staff turnover is unsustainably high."

Government-appointed children's commissioner Andrew Christie is due to set up an independent trust to run the county's children's services alongside the new unitary authorities.

The commissioners said this new trust "holds out the hope of a new beginning" and should have "an ambitious and sound footing".

A council spokesman said the trust would "aspire to deliver outstanding social care services for children and young people".

"The main focus is on ensuring a positive impact on those children most in need of protection and care," he said.

"Key to this is creating the conditions which enable and support staff to be innovative and creative with the trust aiming to be a centre of social work excellence."

A response from housing minister Luke Hall commended the commissioners and said "you have continued to strengthen governance and steer the council to maintain robust control of finances".

Sally Keeble, former Labour MP for Northampton North, said children's services were a "disaster" and there was a risk it would "be swept under the carpet of local government reorganisation".

"The voices of children in need are being drowned out by senior figures in County Hall talking about financial management," she said.

Ms Keeble, also said the new trust was "not a solution to the problem" and instead there should be "more money, more transparency and a change of culture" at the county council.

The former minister said it was "obscene" the commissioners received praise for financial control "when this is being delivered at the expense of some of our most vulnerable children".