Wells MP Tessa Munt was horrified to read Ofsted's report into Children's Services in Somerset which graded them as 'inadequate'.
Somerset County Council at any one time has more than 1,500 children in need of support, with around 300 subject to child protection plans. The latest inspection took place at the end of June and looked at Arrangements for the Protection of Children. The inspection report was published yesterday. Ofsted gave an overall grading of inadequate, which highlighted serious shortcomings in leadership and governance.
Ofsted's 2012 report on the Safeguarding of Children in Care judged county council's services to be adequate (the second to lowest grading).
Ms Munt said: "After last year's result Children's Services should have been an absolute priority for the Conservative run Council. I am shocked and horrified at this outcome. In 2009 under the Lib Dem administration services were judged as "outstanding" and it is utterly unacceptable for standards to have plummeted in this way.
"The recent tragic case of Daniel Pelka has shocked everyone and reinforces just how important it is to get Children's Services right – there can be no cutting corners. I have written to John Osman, leader of the Conservative County Council and former Cabinet Member for Children and Families asking him specifically to outline what he has done following last year's report and how he will address this year's failings."
"The Lib Dems at the county council have experience, knowledge and skills which again they will offer to the ruling Conservatives in order to improve the lives of children in Somerset and I would hope that this expertise will now be utilised."
County council has appointed a nationally recognised interim director of children's services, Peter Lewis, to lead the changes. Mr Lewis oversaw changes in the London borough of Haringey following the Baby P scandal.
