FINANCIAL cuts have been blamed after it was revealed the council needs outside help to improve services for its most vulnerable children.

We reported yesterday how a damning report by the Department for Education's Commissioner for Children's Services in Worcestershire spoke of "widespread, systemic failings" in Worcestershire County Council's children's services.

In the report, Trevor Doughty said he could no longer support children's services "remaining in Worcestershire County Council in their current format".

Essex County Council will be brought in as an 'improvement partner' to help make the necessary changes.

However, the report also said that the council must introduce an alternative delivery model - for example, delivering children's services via an independent trust.

Although this is voluntary, Mr Doughty's report says: "It is crucial that immediate steps are taken to better protect vulnerable children.

He added: "The next stage for a Commissioner following the report should be to work on new models with an understanding that this is necessary and it is not appropriate to continue with the current arrangements." 

Peter McDonald, the leader of the Labour group on the council, says the decision to get outside help to support the authority's children's services team was predictable due to funding cut backs.

Councillor McDonald said: "The Labour group has been predicting this would be the result of cutbacks for years.

"At the end of the day all that is required to improve children's services is proper resourcing.

"Someone is being brought in from outside and paid a fat salary, that money could go into children's services.

"Things will not get better while we have a controlling group who support austerity, instead of improving the lives of families and children."

But Catherine Driscoll, director of Children, Families and Communities said: "The council has increased funding to children's services by £11 million a year and this year, to support improvement, £5.1 million additional money has put in.

"It is not a simple cause and effect."

Mrs Driscoll added when Ofsted rated the services as inadequate (in January), it was recognised then problems were widespread, embedded and cultural, and would take three to five years period to improve.

"I have been here a year now and I have been clear about the scale of the challenge," she said.

"There are positive signs."

Councillor Andy Roberts, cabinet member with responsibility for children and families, said: "We aren't going to get to be a good service tweaking what we have.

"We need to bring in people from the outside.

"We want to involve the whole council in the decision - there are different options.

"We need to get the right one."

In the report Mr Doughty said: "The failings in WCC Children’s Social Care Services are deep seated and complex and are continuing."

"These failings have clearly existed for some time, and appear to have become embedded in the thinking and behaviours throughout the whole service and are widespread.

"I am concerned that there is an over optimism around the (existing) improvement plan along with a reluctance to undertake a systemic analysis of the issues and a better prioritised series of actions aimed at addressing the deep-seated cultural problems.

"I cannot support Children’s Services remaining in their current format."

In January an Ofsted inspection rated the county's services as "inadequate", and previously the authority came under fire after the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission named the county as among the worst parts of the UK for social mobility.