Baby P fear as Rotherham Children's Services named and shamed: VOTE

An OFSTED report named Rotherham among nine councils whose services for kids were rated as “poor”, just a week after Children’s Minister Dawn Primarolo threatened to take over the running of the department.

Cllr Wright and his colleagues are under fire following the department’s downgrading from three stars to two, an internal review and a damning inspection report from OFSTED on the back of a surprise inspection.

And despite assurances from Cllr Wright that changes have been made, a council insider with links to the department said this week: “It is another Baby P case waiting to happen.

“There are a number of high risk cases in Rotherham that could go wrong at an hour’s notice.

“This is the second warning shot that the council has received.

“We need more social workers who are better rewarded and supported and fewer bureaucrats in the council.

“This report rates Rotherham as poor and puts it in the same league as Doncaster, which is terrible.

“The new chief executive needs to get a grip immediately.”

Rotherham's ranking in the annual children’s services ratings of 152 local authorities in England, which were published by OFSTED on Wednesday, came as no surprise to council bosses, who said that they were already taking action to address the problems.

But opposition councillors rounded on Cllr Wright in the Council Chamber this week when he was asked if he was “ashamed” by the report.

Tory councillor Tom Fenoughty said: “We want to see the best for our young people and there are questions to be asked.

“Was enough money allocated to start with?

“Who is responsible and who will pay the price if improvements don’t happen?”

Independent Cllr Peter Thirlwall added: “Are you ashamed of this report and should the cabinet member resign?”

Cllr Wright responded by saying: “This is not a political football and our number one priority is keeping children safe.

“We did underestimate the sheer volume of children in need and children at risk.

“We are all corporate parents and nothing is going to get swept under the carpet. I am responsible and I take that responsibility very seriously.

“I am absolutely not ashamed but I am disappointed. I am however satisfied that the changes necessary have been made and have already started to take effect.”

Cllr Wright cited this year's best GCSE results to date, the number of schools with outstanding Ofsted reports and healthy school status and the £150 million being spent on school building improvements, among the town’s successes.

Tory leader Cllr John Gilding hit back with: “We are one of the nine worst authorities in this country—how can we be doing well?

“Every council in the country has had to deal the Baby P tragedy, we can’t use that as an excuse.

“Somebody’s head should roll—either yours or that of the officer involved.”

But Cllr Roger Stone pledged his full support to Cllr Wright and all council staff working in the department.

“There is no way that we would allow him to resign,” he said. “Cllr Wright has done a fantastic job and so have the directors in education and they will put this right.

“All that you are saying is rubbish.”

Cllr Wright added: “As with all areas across the country we face a number of challenging cases which can change rapidly and we have to react to them quickly and efficiently.

“Our commitment to improving how we work with these cases is clearly shown in how we have reacted to inspection findings and our internal review.

"Our work has the support of the new Chief Executive, who is chairing the improvement panel, and playing an active role in the issue.”