Care shake-up plans win backing

Peter Peacock detailed the report's findings to fellow MSPs

Wide-ranging changes to a council's social work system have been welcomed by MSPs after a "damning indictment" of care services in the Borders.

Reports into how four people's abuse cases were handled by Scottish Borders Council found failures at every level.

Peter Peacock, the minister for social work, said he accepted all 42recommendations made in the reports.

The minister promised that the executive would take action to ensure they are acted upon.

Scottish National Party community care spokeswoman Shona Robison asked Mr Peacock in parliament if action would automatically be taken against any social worker found to merit deregistration by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC).

She also demanded that action be taken against any senior managers found culpable in the unpublished findings of fact.

'Unprecedented action'

"The report makes appalling reading, and I think really the conclusion is that there has been a total institutional failure by the social work department in Borders Council," she said.

"However, total institutional failure is only a product of the failure of individuals within that institution."

Mr Peacock agreed that the failings "extend beyond those frontline workers, in terms of supervision and proper management of frontline staff".

The minister said he had no legal basis to intervene in terms of employment laws and the council, as employer, was responsible for considering disciplinary action.

Mr Peacock said he had taken "unprecedented" action to ensure the issue was considered by the SSSC, "to make sure that people who are not fit to practice social work should not be practising social work".

We need to ask ourselves fundamental questions, but I want to do that in a positive way that will strengthen the contribution social work can make to Scotland in the future Peter Peacock

James Douglas-Hamilton, Scottish Tory education spokesman, said the case was a "stressing and disturbing" one, and also demanded that anyone found to be culpable should be prevented from employment in social work.

He asked the minister: "In order to draw a line under this matter, will [you] make the necessary inquiries to make certain that those involved in serious malpractice are not currently employed by social work departments in Scotland, whose standards, necessarily, have to be high?"

Mr Peacock backed the Tory MSP's further call for the privacy of the victims at the centre of the report to be protected.

The minister said they had been "failed dramatically over their lives", and ensuring the remainder of their lives was improved was the least that could be done.

Jeremy Purvis, Lib Dem MSP for Tweedale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, said the "deeply disturbing" report highlighted the state's repeated failure to meet its duty to care for the most vulnerable in society.

'Cleanse the system'

Labour Dunfermline West MSP Scott Barrie, a former senior social worker, said it was clear from the minister's statement that there had been a "catastrophic breakdown" in practice over a number of years and welcomed the minister's promise of a "fundamental" review into the role of social work in the 21st century.

Mr Peacock insisted that the review must "not in any way" be seen as an attack on social work staff, most of whom did an extraordinarily complex job on a daily basis without due recognition.

"But equally, if it goes wrong, as in this case, it raises questions of where else might it be going wrong and we haven't yet found out," he said.

"So we need to ask ourselves these fundamental questions, but I want to do that in a positive way that will strengthen the contribution social work can make to Scotland in the future."

Christine Grahame expressed concern over retired staff

South of Scotland list MSP Christine Grahame said the report had exonerated the whistleblowers who felt they could not go through the systems of the local authority.

The Nationalist MSP insisted action was needed to protect such people against "overt or covert" prosecution or persecution when doing so.

Ms Grahame said there was "serious determination" within Borders Council to "cleanse the system", but she expressed concerns that if any staff who had since retired had been found to be culpable, they could get off "scot free".

Age Concern Scotland said the report into the abuse of the woman in Newtown St Boswells, whose case sparked the inquiries, would be important in improving the care of vulnerable adults.

However, director Maureen O'Neill said: "It is a terrible indictment on society that a young woman has had to suffer so dreadfully to uncover how vulnerable some people are to abuse, and highlight how much more needs to be done to give them an acceptable level of protection."

'Harrowing job'

Cosla's social work spokesman Councillor Eric Jackson said "lessons have to be learned" from the report.

He added: "Social workers do an extremely difficult, and at times harrowing, job and we only hear about the things that go wrong.

"Unfortunately in this case things did go tragically wrong - but the measured approach outlined by the executive is to be applauded.

Mandy McDowall, Unison's regional officer for the Borders, said the union would "be looking at the full report in detail and commits itself to work with the council, the health board and the police to deliver any further changes necessary".