Councils miss top services ratings

The report says services to children in Bedfordshire need improvement

Social services in Bedfordshire have been rated among the worst in England after being award zero stars by inspectors.

The authority is one of eight in the country to receive no stars from the Department of Health's Social Services Inspectorate (SSI).

It is the second year in a row the council has received the lowest rating, because it is deemed not to be serving children well, although its services to adults were ranked higher.

Six social services departments in the East received two-star ratings and five received one star, while no department in the region achieved the highest three-star rating.

It was the second year in a row that social services in the east failed to gain top marks from the inspectors.

Star ratings Two stars Cambridgeshire Essex Hertfordshire Luton Milton Keynes Thurrock One star Buckinghamshire Norfolk Northamptonshire Peterborough Southend-on-Sea Suffolk Zero stars Bedfordshire

Councillor Angela Roberts, Leader of the Bedfordshire County Council, said: "We have already acknowledged that the improvement journey we need to make with our social services is a long one.

"Our capacity for improvement in services for adults is described as 'promising' in the SSI letter this year; this is a significant step forward from the 'uncertain' category we were placed in last year.

"I believe this shows that we are making progress and I will be continuing to work closely with officers to make sure that further improvements are made as we move the service forward together."

Ms Roberts said that the council did not yet expect to see new improvements in services to children and adults reflected in the star ratings, but added that protecting the vulnerable was one of the objectives "which is now driving everything the council does".

Nationwide sixteen councils have been awarded the top-rating of three stars, up from 11 last year.