Wandsworth: Health and Social Workers (Hansard, 11 July 1990)

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Hooper)
My Lords, we recognise the fact that health visitors and social workers are a valuable community resource. However, the recruitment of health visitors is a matter for Wandsworth Health Authority and not the local authority. It is for employing authorities to take whatever steps are appropriate to recruit the staff that they need. The Department of Health gives advice and assistance as appropriate.

§ Lord Jay
My Lords, is the Minister aware that in the distressing case involving the 3 year-old child Stephanie Fox, whom the court recently found to have been murdered by her father while she was in the care of Wandsworth council, the special independent panel of inquiry set up to investigate the case stated that the child was refused a nursery place for six months owing 275 to a shortage of places? Is the Minister further aware that the panel stated that the shortage was in large measure created by the council's budgetary restrictions; that a shortage of council homes had forced the council to accommodate that problem family on the 19th floor of a high-rise block of flats; that in doing so risks to the child were increased; and that in the panel's view some aspects of the prevailing financial pressure and staff shortage, adversely affected the conduct of this case"?

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, this is a tragic case. Wandsworth Health Authority and the local authority's social services department have welcomed the publication of the report of the independent review panel and its recommendations. Many steps have already been taken to implement the recommendations, in particular as regards guidelines to health visitors, record keeping, communication and training, supervision and monitoring. However, I must emphasise that Wandsworth area child protection committee established that resources were not an issue in the case involving the death of Stephanie Fox.

§ Lord Dean of Beswick
My Lords, yesterday in another place the Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party announced that part of the National Health Service and Community Care Act will be placed on ice and postponed. As a result, what advice have the Government given to local authorities about the recruitment of staff for future needs?

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, I do not believe that my right honourable and learned friend in another place made any such statement. He was merely answering questions resulting from press speculation on the matter.

§ Baroness Gardner of Parkes
My Lords, is the Minister aware that there is now a closer working relationship between local and health authorities which is beneficial, although tragic cases still occur? Can she say what policy the Government have to co-ordinate child care?

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, we are pleased about and are encouraging further co-operation between local and health authorities. We have recently published a guide to arrangements for inter-agency co-operation for the protection of children from abuse, entitled Working Together. An interdepartmental group on child abuse was set up in March 1987 and comprises senior officials from the various government departments interested in such cases. That has provided a valuable forum for taking forward policies and practices and for developing consistency between the actions of departments.

§ Baroness Seear
My Lords, in view of the confusion which has arisen because of' the rumours about community care being put on ice and following the remarks made yesterday in another place, can the noble Baroness tell us whether or not it is true that community care provision is to be put on ice?

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, I fear that we are straying rather far from the Question on the Order Paper. I repeat that questions answered yesterday relate to press speculation.

§ Lord Jenkins of Putney
My Lords, to return to the Question on the Order Paper, is the noble Baroness aware that owing to the very vigorous cuts instituted by Wandsworth Borough Council, other children on the at risk register have not been allocated a social worker. Those children have unnecessarily been placed at risk: they should have a social worker allocated to them. Will the noble Baroness do what she can to make clear to Wandsworth Borough Council that even if it has to make different arrangements regarding its budget, use reserves or whatever, it must find a means of protecting children on the at risk register?

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, indeed we recognise that to be a very important area. I understand that all Wandsworth spending committees are reviewing current and prospective expenditure but no final decisions will be made until the autumn committee cycle.

§ Lord Molloy
My Lords, is the noble Baroness aware that this is a very sad and poignant issue? The Health Visitors Association is very anxious about Wandsworth as it was about the situation in Greenwich. Would it not be sensible for the department to have discussions with the Health Visitors Association so that there can be a joint contribution which might relieve a very sad and tense situation?

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, the department offers a number of facilities to ensure co-ordination and routinely issues guidance to local authorities on best practice. It has recently hosted a national conference for chairmen of area child protection committees, the proceedings of which are soon to he published. In addition, several projects in the department's central training initiative are concerned with child sexual abuse and, as part of the training support programme, a special development group has produced guidelines for local authority training officers to assist with the planning of staff training in that area. Furthermore, the social services inspectorate produces reports which highlight good practice. Those reports are published nationally.

§ Lord Peston
My Lords, I understand, as regards this tragic case, that the noble Baroness said earlier that the Government believe that resources were not the point at issue. If that is true, does she not agree that there must have been incompetence and a failure on the part of the Wandsworth council and health authority? If that is the case, surely the Government cannot wash their hands of the affair but should be adopting a more active part in seeing that that sort of thing does not happen again. In the end, a child died, and, as my noble friend Lord Jenkins pointed out, other children are at risk. The Government cannot let this matter go by the board.

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, I refute any suggestion that the Government are washing their 277 hands of such a tragic case. That is why the local and health authorities and ourselves welcomed the independent review panel's thorough report on the situation. We are looking to see that its recommendations are implemented.

§ Baroness Gardner of Parkes
My Lords, can the Minister say what facilities there are for training social workers and whether there is any opportunity for older people to train on a part-time basis?

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, yes. A number of initiatives are being taken in order to recruit both health visitors and social workers. In particular mature entrants are being targeted; for example, by the offer of part-time training courses as well through an advertising campaign and other measures.

§ Lord Molloy
My Lords, the health visitors are in the front line. In this situation the health visitors are more important than the local authorities. Would it not be sensible and intelligent for the department to talk to the Health Visitors Association's general secretary and her colleagues?

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, that is already happening both at departmental and local levels.

§ Baroness Cumberlege
My Lords, does the Minister agree that credit should be given to the Wandsworth Health Authority in that, first, it has no vacancies for health visitor posts; secondly, it has no difficulty in recruiting—in fact there is a waiting list of health visitors wishing to work there—and, thirdly, every child on the child protection register has been allocated a health visitor?

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend. I can confirm what she says. I re-emphasise that, as in many other areas, there is a particular problem in London as regards recruitment.

§ Lord Jenkins of Putney
My Lords, will the noble Baroness check on the question of whether or not a social visitor has been allocated to every child on the at risk register?

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, I believe that the answer is in the affirmative but I shall check and write to the noble Lord.

§ Lord Jay
My Lords, will the Minister also note that unless the Government ease their extreme restrictions on essential local expenditure, tragedies of this kind are all too likely to occur? If they do, the Government will bear the very heavy responsibility.

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, as I said, the special report pointed to the fact that the problem was not a lack of funding. However, there may be a problem with the management of funding and we are making sure that that is looked into.