Renewed calls for leader to leave post

latest report says council must take ‘urgent action’ to address major flaws

By Calum Ross

Published:

Aberdeen City Council must take “urgent action” to address major weaknesses in its social work services, the latest damning report into the local authority concludes.

The Social Work Inspection Agency report is understood to make 22 recommendations for improvement in the council service.

Due to be released next month, the draft report’s publication has been brought forward to today after details of its content emerged during this week’s Accounts Commission hearing into the running of the council.

The Press and Journal reported on Wednesday that the commission’s panel had revealed five out of 10 areas of evaluation to be “weak”, two “unsatisfactory”, and three no more than “adequate”.

Further details emerged last night in a council briefing note obtained by the P&J, prompting renewed calls for council leader Kate Dean to resign.

But the embattled councillor came out fighting and hit back with a stinging attack on opposition Labour councillors.

The report is understood to state that services for children with disabilities need to be reviewed and improvements are required in the quality of assessments and care plans.

Urgent action is also said to be needed to understand the impact of drug-using parents on their children, and to rebuild trust between staff and managers.

A lack of consistency between the north, central and south areas is also thought to have been identified – an issue the Accounts Commission questioned speakers on at Tuesday’s hearing.

The document’s release follows the recent publication of two critical Audit Scotland reports – one looking at the selling of council assets below market value and the other highlighting the local authority’s “precarious” finances.

Labour group secretary Willie Young said last night: “The leader of the council, Kate Dean, must resign as she is the only common denominator in all of these reports, with each report highlighting weak leadership.

“This city, its people and this council have absolutely no confidence in her and, in order for the city to move on, she must do the honourable thing and resign.”

Mrs Dean said she had no intention of resigning, branding Mr Young a “maverick element”.

She went on: “The Labour group should look hard at their tactics and attitude on this. We have Councillor Ironside, the Labour group leader, urging us to work together for the good of the city, and Councillor Young still beating the drum on resignation.

“If Councillor Ironside doesn’t have the leadership skills to control the maverick element in his own group, how can he expect to be trusted to run the city.”