THE decision by Care Inspectorate Wales to end enhanced monitoring of Powys County Council's social care service has been welcomed by the local authority.

The decision by CIW was taken following an inspection which took place in recent months and which looked at services delivered to adults and children and their families.

Councillor Rachel Powell, the cabinet member with responsibility for children's services, said: “This is a particularly proud moment knowing and understanding at first-hand how instrumental children's services are for families within Powys.

“I would like to acknowledge the passion and drive demonstrated by both Ali Bulman as director and Jan Coles, as head of service, as well as the leader, cabinet and corporate services. It has been and continues to be a demonstration of true transformational leadership.

“However, we can never underestimate the value of our committed children's services staff, whom at every level and within every specialist team, continue to strive to work with families to improve outcomes, safeguard vulnerable children and most importantly, ensure that the child's voice is always heard.

“While we can reflect on past events, it is always far more productive to look forward with optimism, to continually aspire to improve and this is most definitely the shared purpose for children's services.”

Her comments were echoed by Myfanwy Alexander, who holds the portfolio for adult services. “This good outcome is the result of an extraordinary quantity of hard work and is even more remarkable for having been achieved in the context of Covid-19,” said Councillor Alexander.

“We have continued to improve services despite the pandemic. We have also benefitted from strong and focussed leadership and though it is difficult to mention individuals in such a joint effort, I must remark upon the impact of our director Alison Bulman and the tenacious political drive provided by the leader of the council, Rosemarie Harries, our heads of Services for adults, Michael Gray, and commissioning, Dylan Owen, and my colleague Rachel Powell. This report in a significant milestone on our journey of improvement.”

CIW inspected children's services in July 2017 and adult services in January 2018 and identified serious and significant failings on each occasion. Since then the CIW has implemented an 'enhanced monitoring' policy, which included nine inspections, during which the inspectorate consulted service users and the council's partners.

Ali Bulman joined the council in the summer of 2018 as corporate director for both departments. “This is very good news and I'd like to thank CIW for recognising the hard work and commitment of social care staff to make improvements to our service,” she said.

“We have had a settled management team for two years now and we have been able to take forward the person-centred service in the way that our residents deserve.

“We know that there are still things that we can do better but we now have a very strong foundation to build upon and I'd like to thank all of the social care staff for their hard work.”

In her letter to the council, Lou Bushell-Bauers, the CIW's head of local authority inspection, stated that the council will now revert to normal levels of engagement with her organisation.

A separate CIW inspection carried out from September 14-18 explored how the council’s social services continue to help and support adults and children.

CIW identified that Powys residents can be assured the local authority is committed to enabling people to have their voices heard and ensuring they receive the care and support they need.

The inspectorate found improved communication between local authority officers and council members with a joint focus on prevention, which will ensure communities and services become sustainable for the future.

The inspectorate found that senior managers and lead members have introduced a new culture of expectation and standards in social care. The local authority is aware of the challenges this presents and is working hard with all stakeholders to support the safety and well-being of people who work in services, and the safety and well-being of people who use or may need to use services.

It said the local authority must continue to progress and reflect on the importance of effective leadership and governance in ensuring it succeeds in delivering upon its responsibilities and functions.

CIW has drawn the local authority’s attention to findings and areas for improvement and will monitor progress.