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Decisive action is being taken to improve inconsistent social services in Rhondda Cynon Taf, according to a Joint Review report published today. However, it is too early to gauge whether recent changes will produce long-term benefits for children and adults.
The review, carried out jointly by the Social Services Inspectorate for Wales and the Wales Audit Office, judges Rhondda Cynon Taf Council as having ‘inconsistent services’ but being ‘mainly well placed to sustain and further improve services’.
It found that adults who need support often receive caring, prompt and competent services. But more work is required if all adult service users and carers are to receive the sort of help they need to have greater independence. Traditionally, the Council has made considerable use of residential and ‘building-based’ day care, provided mainly by its own staff. This has restricted the number of people receiving help and the choices available to them. The position is now changing, albeit slowly. More people are receiving support in their own homes and community settings from a wider range of service providers, including voluntary organisations.
Services to children and their families have caused much concern. Despite evidence of recent improvement, the position still remains fragile. Some vulnerable children were not getting the help they needed at the right time, in part because the Council did not have enough appropriately skilled and qualified staff. Critical decisions were delayed and children could not be guaranteed effective protection or opportunities to develop.
The Review team found that the Council is acting decisively to bring about improvements in children and family services. Solid gains have been made, including greater support for the Children and Family Services Division by moving it into the Community Services Directorate, which is also responsible for adult social care and housing. The Council has also increased significantly the level of political, corporate and technical help available to the division.
However, the report warns of a risk that the need to focus on improving children’s services could have a detrimental impact upon the Council’s ability to deliver its adult services agenda. It also says that many problems faced by the Council are long standing, which means that reform will need to be sustained over a considerable period of time to deal effectively with outstanding issues. These include the legacy of management and staffing problems in children’s services and the cautious pace of modernisation in adult services, with underdeveloped partnership working and comparatively high costs.
On balance, however, the Reviewers concluded that Rhondda Cynon Taf is mainly well placed to sustain and make further improvements to social services, with strong evidence that the Council as a whole is making a contribution to the programme of change.
The Council has been asked to produce an action plan in response to the Review. SSIW and the Wales Audit Office will carry out further work to evaluate the progress made in delivering the actions and also the outcomes for service users and carers.
The Acting Chief Inspector of Social Services, Richard Tebboth said today:
“I am encouraged by the recent changes Rhondda Cynon Taf has made to social services but the Council still faces tough challenges ahead. It needs to sustain high levels of commitment to improving services, We will monitor progress over the next year to find out whether the needs of vulnerable people are being met more consistently by the Council."
Auditor General for Wales, Jeremy Colman said today:
“Rhondda Cynon Taf Council is building a solid platform for its social services provision, but the benefits of some recent changes have yet to be seen. The Council must now develop and put into effect a robust action plan, in response to this report, to help bring about further improvement.”
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.
• Fieldwork for the review of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council was carried out between August and December 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?
• Rhondda Cynon Taf Council is the second most populated unitary authority in Wales, serving approximately 232,000 people.
• 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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