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Social services in Carmarthenshire are inconsistent but there are some encouraging signs of improvement. Although children and their families receive very good services, the Council still has a long way to go before there is an adequate range of modern adult services that reliably meet the needs of vulnerable people in the area. This is the conclusion of a report published today of the joint review of the Council's social services carried out by the Social Services Inspectorate for Wales (SSIW) and the Wales Audit Office.
The reviewers found that changes within the Council have given social services a higher priority and have provided good opportunities for more joined up working in delivering social care. However, some problems identified at the time of the last joint review have not yet been tackled and progress has been slow in dealing with some significant changes required in adult services.
This mixed picture has led to an overall judgement that Carmarthenshire County Council has ‘inconsistent services’ and is ‘uncertainly placed to sustain and further improve services.’
The report concludes that services for children and their families are mainly good, with a clear focus on safeguarding children and promoting their welfare. Reviewers found an impressive range of services in place and effective management arrangements. Managers and staff have been creative and innovative in the use of available funding, although resources remain a risk area and there are considerable pressures on finances.
Less progress has been made in adult services, where reviewers had more concerns about the pace of change and improvement. When people do receive services, these are generally safe and caring. However, the review found that there is an increasing number of vulnerable people whose needs are not being met and who are at risk in the community and in hospital, because services and funding are not available.
The report acknowledges the very positive response from the Council to the concerns raised during the review. The Council recognises that it needs to move quickly to address the issues identified. In the short term, the report says, the Council may need additional help to improve quickly enough its ability to deal with shortfalls in areas such as commissioning, project management, and financial and service planning.
The Council has been asked to produce an action plan in response to this report and staff from SSIW and Wales Audit Office will carry out further work to evaluate the progress made in delivering the actions and the outcomes for services users and carers.
The Acting Chief Inspector of Social Services, Richard Tebboth said today:
“This report acknowledges the progress Carmarthenshire Council has made in improving its social services for children. Not enough has been done as yet to bring adult services up to the standards people should expect. As a matter of priority, the Council should develop a clear vision for social services as whole and sustainable strategies for modernising adult services, which can be translated quickly into positive actions that will produce clear benefits for service users and carers.”
Auditor General for Wales, Jeremy Colman said today:
“The Council is moving in the right direction and changes made since the first joint review are showing some results. There are still some entrenched problems and barriers to improvement that need to be dealt with if Carmarthenshire’s adult social services are to meet consistently the needs of vulnerable people.”
Notes to Editors:
• This report is part of a second series of joint reviews, a rolling five-year programme to assess the performance of individual social service authorities in Wales.
• Joint reviews are conducted jointly by the Social Services Inspectorate for Wales and the Wales Audit Office.
• The review of Carmarthenshire Council was carried out between August and November 2005.
• Joint reviews are carried out in accordance with the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003, which gives the National Assembly for Wales the power to conduct reviews of the way in which local authorities discharge their social services functions.
• Joint reviews set out to answer two key questions: How good are the social services that people in the area receive and how well placed is the Council to sustain and improve services?
• Carmarthenshire County Council covers a mixed urban and rural area, serving a population of some 173,000.
• Further information can be found on the joint review web-site: http://www.joint-reviews.gov.uk/
Ends
For more information, please contact Rachel Harries (Wales Audit Office Communications Manager) on 029 2026 2675.
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