The Government has threatened to take over Birmingham City Council’s under-performing children’s services.
A council representative this morning attempted to play down news of the potential intervention but declined to comment further.
The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) said it was ‘concerned that the nature of this latest announcement will do little to help struggling morale and early efforts to introduce urgent reform’.
BASW chief executive Bridget Robb said: ‘Social workers and council leaders in Birmingham know very well that they are under pressure to improve the service they provide to their communities and are currently beginning a long process of attempting to return the authority’s safeguarding services to better health, but this won’t be an overnight job.
‘Of course, Birmingham, like all local authorities, cannot go on indefinitely under-performing and we know how challenging it has been for social workers to operate in the city over recent years.
‘Ministers need to tread carefully that they don’t rush into yet more changes that may do more harm than good when, under Peter Hay’s stewardship, the council appears well placed to turn things around.’
