Nottinghamshire County Council 'failed to spot abuse patterns'

Social services "wrongly" did not see child sexual abuse as "a systemic problem", an inquiry heard.

David White, Nottinghamshire County Council's director of social services from 1989 to 1994, said there was "a massive missed opportunity" to deal with abuse during his tenure.

He also told the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) he was "ashamed" by a report into a 14-year-old's sexual activity.

The authority apologised in January.

Mr White told the inquiry the council's social services was "chaotic" when he arrived, with more than 2,200 children in care and 1,200 unallocated cases.

He said there "must have been greater emphasis on the staff issue than the childcare issue" when allegations were reported.

Mr White said he resigned following a critical report into the county's social services in 1994, but was not aware of a pattern of abuse, or having been told about cases that occurred before he arrived.

"I don't recall being made aware of the extent, both in terms of numbers and also in terms of the history, and that's why I have to say I'm just flabbergasted by what's gone on before my time and since," he said.

"We failed them on my watch."

One 1989 report identified a 14-year-old girl at Beechwood Community Home as being "very sexually active" before coming into care and "a willing participator or the initiator" in sexual acts.

Mr White said: "I am ashamed by this report, absolutely ashamed, now reading it 20, nearly 30 years on. I was upset by the tenor, the tone and the description.

"I am not proud of this at all, in terms of the way that we, as an organisation, reported this matter, and clearly, I guess, sought to justify what we found. I am really, really not happy about this report now."

Rod Jones, who joined the county council in 1976 and retired in 1998, told the inquiry he was responsible for drawing up policies but did not see how they were implemented.

"In a service that is managed by others to a population of over a million, through 13 area officers, you have to rely on people to do what they should be doing," he said.

Mr Jones said he was not aware of the extent of abuse, and said some abuse within homes "could have been prevented had the staffing levels been higher".

The inquiry continues.

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].