Social Services Scandal in West Sussex

I was stunned and extremely moved to learn the following shocking facts:

• At the end of March 2009 there were 84 full-time social worker posts vacant. Children’s Services accounted for 45 of these full-time vacancies.
• Between September 2008 and March 2009 WSCC spent almost £1.5m on agency social workers to fill core posts.
• In particular, £763,000 was spent in agency fees in Children’s Services to cover just 20 posts. I have calculated this to equate to £5,500 per agency social worker per month, in comparison to the usual council salary of £2,000 per month for a permanent social worker[1] – costing the local council tax payer 63% more compared to if a permanent council social worker was employed.
• WSCC has only met once with Ofsted since January 2008. The meeting was for the Annual Performance Assessment in October 2008 to discuss the performance of Children's Social Care.

Taking the politics out of the situation, I was lost for words when I found out the above information, especially when you put in the forefront of your mind that social services exist to protect vulnerable children and adults. When I started to scrutinise West Sussex County Council’s social services I never thought in a million years I would unearth findings to this shocking extent.

I acknowledge the announcement and effort made by WSCC in November 2008 to spend £500,000 on a recruitment campaign to fill the outstanding social worker vacancies. However we are now in April, some 5 months since the announcement, and clearly no improvements have been made. I find it absolutely extraordinary that 84 full-time social worker posts still remain vacant. My main concern is for all those vulnerable children and adults that are in potential danger across West Sussex.

I am also concerned that social services are spilt between the portfolios of Cllr Arculus and Cllr De Mierre. It is not surprising things are in such a mess when social services is divided between these two Cabinet Members. Surely the Department would be more effective if social services became the responsibility of just one Cabinet Member who held overall responsibility?

And that is why today I am calling on Cllr Henry Smith, Leader of West Sussex County Council, to take a non-partisan approach and to meet with me to see where I can help. Only by working together across the political spectrum are we going to resolve this crisis. This is paramount if the vulnerable children and adults are to be given the justice they deserve in West Sussex.

[1] This is based on the assumption that a permanent council social worker starts on £24,000 p.a.

Roads go to pot!

West Sussex County Council spent £500,000 in 2008/09 for repairing pot holes on roads. This includes patching repairs and pre-surfacing dressing works.

However a Freedom of Information Request I submitted reveals that 676 pothole claims were made by motorists during January 2008 and March 2009. Out of these claims only 135 were awarded compensation amounting to almost £50,000. March 2009 saw the highest amount of pothole claims ever, totalling 106.

Utility companies have also been leaving roads and pavements in a poor condition following their work. Under the New Roads and Street Works Act, utility companies’ work is guaranteed for up to 3 years. The Freedom of Information Request revealed that routine highways inspections resulted in 795 defective notices being issued by the county council to utility companies during 2008/09. There were 38,151 works in the highway by utility companies resulting in 64,178 openings (individual sites) in the period January 2008 to March 2009.

There were also 198 pavement trip claims between January 2008 and March 2009, though only 4 claims were successful.

I was stunned to discover that West Sussex County Council paid out £50,000 in compensation to motorists for pothole claims. In the context of their £500,000 annual budget for repairing potholes, this represents 10% of the budget which could be spent on additional pothole repairs.”

The constant digging up of roads by utility companies certainly doesn’t help and deteriorates the condition of our highways. Given how much profit these utility companies are making I want to see West Sussex County Council squeeze them for every penny possible if they leave a road in an unsatisfactory condition following their work.

Given the damming insight these figures reveal the local authority obviously has adopted the nickname of West Sussex Chaos Council.

Cllr Henry Smith's School Buildings Legacy

I recently exposed a damning insight into the current situation of school buildings across West Sussex after years of Tory neglect. The current estimated backlog of repairs for school buildings is £82m. This includes leaking roofs, faulty electrics and unreliable boilers. The backlog estimate will be revised following a programme of condition surveys that will be complete by April 2010.

I was astounded to learn that the current estimated backlog of repairs for school buildings in West Sussex stands at £82m. This will be one of Cllr Henry Smith’s legacies of his Tory leadership of West Sussex County Council (above). Not only was Thatcher the “milk-snatcher” but successive Tory Governments of 1979-1997 left a long-standing legacy of crumbling schools.

I welcome West Sussex County Council’s “Expression of Interest” for funding, submitted to the Department for Children, Schools and Families, for the Building Schools for the Future programme to improve school buildings in Worthing.

Although the Labour Government first launched the Building Schools for the Future programme in 2005/06 it has emerged that it took West Sussex County Council until November 2008 to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) according to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request – three years following the launch of the programme.

The Worthing area has been prioritised for West Sussex County Council’s Expression of Interest. The £80m bid, if successful, would see six schools benefit in Worthing. These schools would include:

Worthing High School
Durrington High School
Davison CE High School for Girls
St Andrew’s CE High School
Chatsmore High School
Oak Grove College

The Freedom of Information request reveals that if successful the county council will be outlining detailed proposals for each school, including a review of the Age of Transfer for pupils in the Worthing area.

The Labour Government has pumped money into improving school buildings and enhancing standards in our schools. If you ask any Head Teacher they will tell you how funding per pupil has drastically increased under Labour – an increase in 87% in real terms, with £5,430 spent on every pupil every year. Only this could be achieved under a Labour Government.