Brum..............

It was difficult to avoid this headline today: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/8575046.stm with six social workers sacked in Birmingham, and it was all over the “today” programme on Radio 4 this morning http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/

The term “sacked” is of course rather emotive and the question of why managers were not sacked too remains uncertain – we suspect however that may be captured in the internal reorganisation in Birmingham as managers are lost, re-assigned or retired in a streamlined management structure.

The facts remain however that as a Council Birmingham is far too large, far too disparate (and desperate) in terms of its communities and too stressed to ever succeed in its service delivery. The answer has to be to dismantle and reconstruct the Council into anything up- to- four separate Council’s to make it more manageable. Will it happen?   Not under this Government!

There are, I heard on the radio today, 20% sickness rates among staff in social services and on top of that the Council relies very heavily upon agency staff. Agency staff are not exactly bad news nor indeed unusual in any authority (these days or indeed throughout my near 40 year career in social work) and that is something of a red herring. Many agency staff are excellent, and as we know many new social workers are taking this route before committing, as previously observed:  http://regulatorwatch.co.uk/2010/03/agency-work/

However, Birmingham is totally fucked up (anyone sensible will tell you it has been for decades) and some social workers are now paying the price – we suspect so will be some managers, but they will probably get paid off or retired. We know, from numerous correspondents that even the most able of social workers join Birmingham and are dragged DOWN by the culture of failure – there is little there to reinforce positive action or competence. It is simply, here are another 10 cases which are impossible to manage. “Just get on with it.”

The head of children’s services in Birmingham (Colin Tucker) of course hails from Sandwell MBC – and look at what a fucking mess he left there! Whereas the guy needs to be given some latitude we wonder is he really up to the job?

Mind you, is anyone up to the job?  Wilt has his doubts on both questions.

Are there any health visitors, education welfare officers, police officers et al being sacked or disciplined – if they are forgive me for missing those details. Yet they are equally if not in some instances more responsible for failings in child welfare.

Believe me, I am no lover of Birmingham Council social services, but social workers are again getting a good bashing in the news – that is not to say that the “Birmingham Six [social workers]” are without the need to be “sacked” or indeed may be innocent, in full or part. No doubt the Rottweiler’s at the GSCC are licking their lips at culling a few more registrants – they just love damaging social workers and the profession and enjoy a close relationship with the Sun readers of this island nation.

The Guardian (oh yeah – guardian of what exactly?) publish a report here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/mar/19/birmingham-council-sacks-social-workers

The Telegraph are not terribly interested http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7478004/Birmingham-council-sacks-six-social-workers-after-Khyra-Ishaq-case.html

The Times likewise uninterested: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7068220.ece

The Mail just aint up to it, yet: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1259085/Khyra-Ishaq-Birmingham-council-members-sacked-child-deaths.html

And

Community Care aint yet woken up (as at 11:26) to the news at all: http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Home/

Mind you the latter rarely wake up before noon!

There will, again, be tears before bedtime and no doubt the GSCC will fuck up over this issue too.

Wilt