Bridgend: 'Serious concerns' with children's services

There are still "serious concerns" about children's services in the area where a five-year-old boy was murdered by his family, inspectors have said.

Despite the murder of Logan Mwangi in July 2021, Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) said "urgent action" was needed in Bridgend. It noted some improvements since its April 2021 inspection.

Logan was murdered by his mother, step-father and a teenage boy.

Bridgend council said it had an ongoing action plan for improvements.

The Welsh government said it was disappointed that such improvements were needed.

The routine inspection took place between 23 and 27 May 2022, nearly a year after Logan was killed and his body was dumped in the River Ogmore close to his home in Sarn.

His mother Angharad Williamson, step-father John Cole and Craig Mulligan were given life sentences for his murder.

Mulligan was not biologically related to any of them, but Cole had raised him since he was nine months old and considered himself a father figure.

On 16 August 2020, Logan was taken to hospital by Williamson who said he dislocated his shoulder when he fell down the stairs the day before.

Doctors discovered Logan had a broken arm and the hospital made a referral to social services.

The following June, social workers in Bridgend removed Logan and his younger sibling from the child protection register - meaning they were no longer considered to be at significant risk of harm.

A child practice review looking at the circumstances around Logan's death and the involvement of professionals in his and his family's life is due to be published in the autumn.

Logan's death came a month before two-year-old Reid Steele was drowned in the bath at his home by his "devoted" mother, just over three miles away from where Logan was murdered.

Natalie Steele, 32, admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility after killing her son while suffering paranoid delusions and was given a hospital order.

The inspection report said there were concerns with Bridgend's Information Advice and Assistance (IAA) service and its ability to protect and promote the wellbeing of vulnerable children and families.

Inspectors said there were problems with recruiting and retaining staff, as well as staff absence.

They said this had led to the loss of experienced staff and an "over reliance" on newly qualified and agency social workers.

Chief inspector of CIW Gillian Baranski said she was pleased to see that some improvements had been made.

She added: "However, further urgent action must be taken to secure and sustain improvement in the care and support for children and families in Bridgend.

"This work must be prioritised to ensure the best possible outcomes for children. We will continue to liaise with the local authority's senior leaders and are closely monitoring the local authority's performance."

The inspection also found records of missing children and children at risk of exploitation were not "sufficiently detailed" to ensure appropriate action had been taken in a timely way.

Inspectors said analysis of risks such as a history of domestic abuse and exploitation needed to be strengthened, while a drop in the number of council foster carers and foster placements led to delays in providing foster carers with relevant information.

The report said: "The workforce is striving relentlessly to support children and families, however, it is clear demand is outstripping available resource."

CIW said it expected the council to address the concerns as soon as practicable and it would be closely monitoring its progress.

It'll worry many that there are still serious concerns about children's services in an area where five-year-old Logan Mwangi and two-year-old Reid Steele died in the summer of 2021.

Some of the problems reflected by inspectors are ones already well reported in councils across Wales during, and prior to, the Covid-19 pandemic.

Recruitment and retention of employees, staff absences and high demand are well-known problems which have led to calls for an independent review of Welsh children's services.

But there are additional, and significant, problems in Bridgend that aren't just a result of the pandemic.

We'll have to wait to find out more about the involvement of professionals - including social workers - in Logan's life when the child practice review is published later this year.

The council's cabinet member for social services Jane Gebbie said the authority would continue working closely with inspectors to make further improvements and that management oversight and decision making had improved.

She added: "We are actively recruiting new employees and are carefully redeploying existing staff to provide additional support in areas experiencing the most pressure.

"I would like to thank our children's services workforce for the commitment and dedication that they have demonstrated during the considerable challenges of the pandemic and beyond."

Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds, who worked as a child protection social worker for more than 25 years, said this report re-emphasised the need for a Wales-wide inquiry as is happening in England and Scotland.

"The report lacks context and does not tell me as a Senedd Member how Bridgend are doing in comparison to Wales as a whole and how they could be supported with good practice from other local authorities."

The Welsh Conservatives reiterated the call for a Wales-wide review of children services.

Welsh Conservative spokesperson Gareth Davies MS said: "Logan's murder was a tragedy and policy makers must focus on preventing anything like this horrific killing happen again".

Health Minister Eluned Morgan said: "We will expect to see improvements and, of course, we are very concerned that we need to do the very best for the most vulnerable children."

She added that an independent inquiry would distract the government from its day job, of making sure that services are improved.