City accused of letting down vulnerable children

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VULNERABLE children are not getting the protection they need from social services in one of Wales cities, a damning report has found. A routine inspection by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate for Wales has revealed deep-seated concerns about the standard of service provided to children in Swansea. It found that considerable improvements are needed, especially in the core areas of assessment, care management and protecting vulnerable children. Gwenda Thomas, deputy minister for social services, said, This report has highlighted the gravity of the problems in childrens services in Swansea. The report and inspection comes after Swansea Council was heavily criticised in the wake of 13-month-old Aaron Gilberts murder in May 2005. His mother Rebecca Lewis, 21, from Townhill, became the first British woman to be jailed for a new charge of familial homicide doing nothing to protect her child from attack, in December 2006. She is serving six years. Her partner, Andrew Lloyd, 23, who battered Aaron to death, is serving at least 24 years for murder. A report published earlier this year revealed a catalogue of errors and said that social workers failed properly to follow up child abuse allegations. The Care and Social Services Inspectorate report, published yesterday, follows an inspection of Swanseas social services department in March and April. Its subsequent report found that some assessments were poor and children were not being seen as they should.