On Tuesday, the Deputy Minister for Social Services, Julie Morgan (Lab, Cardiff North), issued a statement in the Senedd on last week’s child practice report into events around the murder of Logan Mwangi – a summary of which you can read here.
Further conversations necessary, but report’s recommendations accepted
The Deputy Minister expressed sorrow at Logan’s murder and offered her condolences to Logan’s father, the wider family and community.
While the report’s recommendations have been accepted, further discussions with agencies need to take place to decide on how to implement them.
In addition to continuing to monitor Bridgend Council’s progress in making improvements, Care Inspectorate Wales will be undertaking a “rapid review” of decision-making around how a child is added or removed from the protection register.
Additionally, there was a commitment to an annual public awareness campaign on how to report child welfare concerns – a key recommendation in the report.
However, the Deputy Minister rejected calls for an independent national inquiry into children’s social services. It was “a time for action, not review” and an inquiry would waste 16 months to confirm what was already known.
“I don’t feel that (an inquiry) is going to help at this stage. We know what the difficulties are and we’ve already had so many inquiries in the Senedd….I just think we’ve got to get on with these actions, and that’s the most important thing for the Welsh Government to do.”
– Deputy Minister for Social Care, Julie Morgan MS
Rejection of independent inquiry criticised by the opposition
Shadow Social Services Minister, Gareth Davies MS (Con, Vale of Clwyd), said Logan’s death was “preventable” had Bridgend Council’s failures been identified earlier and action taken.
He noted the report’s conclusions that Bridgend Council had used Covid restrictions to justify a lack of face-to-face visits and the council’s over-reliance on agency staff in social services.
Heledd Fychan MS (Plaid, South Wales Central) said that despite Wales prioritising children’s rights it was an example of a child’s voice not being heard. She joined criticism of the Welsh Government’s rejection of an independent inquiry as similar recommendations have been made in previous reports and lessons were still not being learned.
“….it’s right that we welcome the rigour of this report, which has not held back from pulling any punches, from going in forensically to what needs to be done. Much as the murder was shocking and horrifying for everybody who’s read about this….(there were) multiple failed opportunities to intervene – and it’s not one individual agency; it’s multiple opportunities – and we’ve seen these opportunities missed before in other circumstances over many years.”
– Huw Irranca-Davies MS (Lab, Ogmore)
Bridgend social services “complacent”
“….how you would feel if you were a front-line worker confronted with John Cole. You would not want to enter that house alone; you would be terrified….I hope you will ensure police are present when social workers need to enter premises where the adults in that child’s life are resisting allowing them in.”
– Jenny Rathbone MS (Lab, Cardiff Central)
Jane Dodds MS (Lib Dem, Brecon & Radnor) – a former child protection social worker – said in the 11 months in which Bridgend social services knew about Logan, they could’ve intervened at least four times, starting from the August 2020 hospital visit.
“I don’t want an inquiry; I want a review. I want us to know that every single child has a chance of being protected, which Logan didn’t. So, my first question is: if not now, when? Because I don’t want to be standing here in 12, 16 months hearing about another child’s death when we haven’t done a review.”
– Jane Dodds MS
Tom Giffard MS (Con, South Wales West) said the report made him “incredibly sad, but it also made me angry”.
As a former member of Bridgend Council’s social services committee, he knew committee members had raised concerns about reliance on agency staff, budgeting and other matters yet the council continued to believe they had a good reputation.
“I will not be one to judge whether that was true or not. But I feel very strongly….that there was a culture of complacency at Bridgend Council in the way that social services were managed, in particular a lack of political oversight from cabinet members on the work that was being done by hard-working dedicated officers and others in the council as well.”
– Tom Giffard MS
As of posting, there still hasn’t been any formal statement or response to the report from Bridgend Council.
Bridgend Council issued a statement at last week’s press conference. You can read it here – doc.
