Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Michael Gove takes action: a lesson for our local council?
Doncaster council to be stripped of children's services
Doncaster Council is to become the first local authority to be stripped of control of children's services, following a "legacy of failure".
BBC story here
There is already a connection between the CYPS of Doncaster and Haringey: it was Eleanor Brazil who was brought into LBH on an interim basis after Baby P.
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How long ago did our own local authority lose moral authority to run this vital, sensitive service?
Was it 10 years ago at the time of Lord Laming's public enquiry into the death of Victoria?
Or was it five years ago with the death of Peter?
Or was it last year, with the AB & CD Judicial Review, when a High Court judge examined the conduct of CYPS? The court even awarded damages against Haringey and their out-of-control department that embedded unlawful practice.
The CYPS is institutionally incompetent and too often, either over reacts, under reacts or acts vindictively when criticised. Questions remain about management integrity. The chronic awful reputation means it is difficult to attract good social workers.
Surely Haringey's Children's Service has proven beyond reasonable doubt that they are incapable of meaningful reform – and incapable of providing the good, professional service that the public deserves?
Tags for Forum Posts: Childrens, Gove, Services, action, unlawfull
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by dont want to give name on
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This is interesting. I wish they would do the same to Haringey Council.
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Permalink Reply by Neville Collins on
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Basically, I think Haringey Council should be stripped of ALL its services and for the entire borough to be run from Whitehall.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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Neville, I sympathise with this as a theoretical concept, but Whitehall are unlikely to want to run all of Haringey's services and besides, not all of them are poorly run. The council's library service is genuinely good and to the council's credit, has not been hacked back as other councils have done.
By contrast, there are areas of spending that desperately need cuts, such as the bloated Communications budget.
By contrast with other Boroughs, Haringey Council is top heavy.
Much of the problem stems from 40+ years of one-party rule, but in turn, that stems partly from the Borough's boundary, radically altered in 1965.
The Education Secretary's action over Doncaster ought to serve as a warning shot to LBH, but it will not. There may have been some tiny tinkering at the top but the management culture in CYPS continues largely unchanged. It needs root and branch overhaul – not in order to appease critics, but in order to provide the best service to the Borough's most vulnerable.
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Slightly off the point but is there anyone on this website who *isn't* a Tory?
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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It's not always possible to tell. The corporations which bio-engineer them are producing far more sophisticated models.
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Yes, it's a clever joke at the expense of political opposition, but what about the action over Doncaster Alan?
I know you're capable of non-partisan thinking.
Is the only reason you don't approve of the actions of the Secretary of State for Education (over Doncaster), because he is a Conservative?
Referring briefly to my topic title, do you think there might be lessons for Haringey?
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Have you read through Julian Le Grand's Report, Clive?
Be honest. Just give a quick straight 'yes' or 'no' answer.
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Alan could you suspend the deflection shield just long enough to answer the question above in relation to the topic?
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Shall I take that as: 'No'?
I'm not deflecting your question, Clive. I want to know whether or not you read the report before you posted your comments above. Otherwise my answer would make no sense.
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No answer? So definitely, 'no'.
Okay, please put the kettle on, make a hot drink and settle down for a quiet read. Then come back and we can have a "non-partisan" exchange of views.
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A previous Labour Secretary of State for Education (Ed Balls) intervened in Haringey's Children's Services, as you may remember.
I believe that in each case, those two Education Secretaries, from competing parties, intervened for reasons unrelated to party politics – local or otherwise – but acted out of the wider public interest.
It'd be great to hear you acknowledge that.
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