Herefordshire Council leader David Hitchiner has issued a statement following the recent Panorama programme that exposed serious failings in Children’s Services in the county.
Cllr Hitchiner said:
“No words of apology can put right the damage our failings have caused, and I want every resident in the county to know that I am deeply sorry that this council let down families so badly.
“We now have a new leadership team in place, a three-year improvement plan to deliver real change, and have pledged almost £22million of additional funding for the staff and resources we need to create a service we can all be proud of. We are determined to deliver the best possible outcomes for children and families in Herefordshire.
“We will be open, transparent and honest with you in reporting the progress we are making on this improvement journey. We know the journey will be far from smooth, but we will not shy away from the challenge.”
Herefordshire Council Cabinet approved £11.49m funding at a meeting held on Thursday 31 March 2022, to support the ongoing improvements in Herefordshire Children’s Social Care Services.
The funding will help to ensure the council’s Children’s Services are adequately resourced and can provide a more secure and resilient service to Herefordshire children and their families in the future.
Corporate Director for Children and Young People, Darryl Freeman, said:
“The £11.49m investment provides us with security to support our significant and lasting improvements to Herefordshire Children’s Services.
“It means we will be able to offer our valued Social Workers a realistic workload, experienced managerial support and professional ways of working. It will help us to continue to build Herefordshire Children’s Social Care Services into a desirable place to come and work with a good work/life balance in a beautiful, family-friendly environment.
“Previous funding has already led to increased stability of our workforce, reduced caseloads for some staff, increased levels of personal and case supervisions, and increased frequency of visits to children and young people and their families. This additional funding will allow us to make many more changes, more quickly to improve our social work practice to support the children and families in the county that are most in need.”
