EXCLUSIVE: Pembrokeshire County Council boss 'will not quit' over damning child safeguarding failures (From Western Telegraph)

EXCLUSIVE: Pembrokeshire County Council boss 'will not quit' over damning child safeguarding failures

12:50pm Thursday 1st September 2011 in News By Katy Woodhouse

Pembrokeshire County Council chief executive Bryn Parry-Jones has exclusively told the Western Telegraph he will not be resigning following the recent damning reports that have shaken the authority.

The county council’s top man very rarely gives interviews but the recent reports and the resulting fall-out has forced him into the public eye.

Mr Parry-Jones agreed to meet Western Telegraph reporter Katy Woodhouse last week.

The chief executive and leader John Davies had both given up leave commitments to deal with the serious issues highlighted in Estyn and CISSW’s report, they said.

When asked if his public appearance meant that the council is in crisis, Mr Parry-Jones said: “I don’t talk about crises because that’s inappropriate.

“There is enormous concern about a report which is so different to the reports we get from these bodies and other bodies that inspect us, including in the recent past, and we are taking it hugely seriously.

“I have dealt with nothing other than this to any substantial extent for the last seven or eight weeks. So in terms of giving an impression that we are taking this seriously I hope people will understand we are taking it most seriously.”

He also stated he would not consider resigning.

“Leadership is about taking responsibility and sorting things out – not walking away, and I take my responsibilities very seriously and I know the leader of the council takes his responsibilities very seriously as well, and we will ensure that the systems we have are even safer than they were before.”

He said a CSSIW report in 2009 found arrangements in safeguarding to be good and seen as a corporate priority.

“We all forget about things that are done but it’s not that long ago when positive things were being said about safeguarding arrangements.

“The local authority isn’t the leader, it isn’t the chief executive, the local authority is thousands of people. We have about 6,500 people working for the county council.

“Thousands of people have been working with us on safeguarding for many years and continue to do so,” he said.

“If there is an allegation of abuse, or a suspicion of abuse, it is handled by people who are experts, and they are experts in the first instance in talking to children, so we can ensure that the most vulnerable voice is heard.

“And I think in the scale of the activity, it shows we’re serious. As the leader has said just occasionally things come to light that none of us would like to have happen.

“We’ve had a number of cases, that all authorities have from time to time. Over the last four years, we’ve had 25 cases. I think it was acknowledged by the report that about half of those cases were not serious issues, the suspicion was there, the complaint was there and many of those, even when it turned out to be not a serious issue, went through a very intensive investigation process.

“It’s dreadful for those children involved in the cases, but it actually shows the system works, because if we’d had none at all, I would say the system didn’t work.

“Some of the cases, when they’ve been investigated, have not come to any serious conclusion, but some of them have, including one person going to jail.

“I think that shows we take it seriously. And I want people to be reassured that we take it seriously.”

Mr Parry-Jones has set up a chief officer’s safeguarding panel which includes all directors and corporate heads of service, which has already met, he said, and has all the appropriate paper work.

But he added what really matters is that people are trained and vetted effectively and when suspicions arise they must be properly dealt with by people who know what they are doing.

“The system can be improved, absolutely, all systems in all organisation can be improved.

“We’ve already started in a significant way tightening the processes that we have,” Mr Parry-Jones said.