Doncaster: The rotten borough they call the Haringey of the north

http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/april/07/01.htm


The social services department in Doncaster has such an appalling record of caring for children at risk that it is known to social work insiders as the 'Haringey of the North'.
This is a grim reference to the equally hapless North London council which failed to prevent the deaths of Victoria Climbie and Baby P.
Less than a month ago, Children's Secretary Ed Balls said there were 'serious weaknesses' in Doncaster's provision for youngsters and ordered a new management team into the crisis-hit authority.
He was forced to act because, despite repeated criticism, the figurehead of the so-called 'Rotten Borough', its controversial mayor Martin Winter, has refused to accept responsibility for - or even recognise - the department's chronic mismanagement and lack of accountability.