A Cold Wind Is Gonna Blow….

Senior managers at Haringey council in North London are “preparing for the worst” today when ministers receive a three-week review of the authority’s performance in the case of Baby P.

Ed Balls, the Children’s Secretary, is expected to take action within hours.

‘Preparing for the worst’..? Some might say the ‘worst’ has already come – to a little baby boy and his siblings. Still, trust the social workers to identify who the real victims are…

Sources at the council say they believe that Sharon Shoesmith, head of children’s services, and several of her management colleagues will be replaced immediately for the failure to stop the brutal killing of the 17-month-old boy despite 60 appointments and meetings between her staff and other children’s services.

Lawyers at the council also face criticism in the report, compiled by Ofsted, the Healthcare Commission and the Inspectorate of Constabulary. The review has found that on two occasions the threat of harm to Baby P met the legal threshold for his removal from the home.

I wonder if that’s all it found…?

Ms Shoesmith has refused to accept any criticism of her staff, who overruled police when they sought to have the boy removed before his death.She said that a serious case review showed her that services had “worked effectively” and that she had no reason to apologise. She did apologise later. But there are concerns that a summary published last month did not represent fully the review’s findings.

The full serious case review has had only limited circulation. But one source who has read it said: “Sharon Shoesmith’s defence of her team was totally unjustified. If I had been her, I would have said, ‘I’m desperately, desperately sorry — mistakes were made’.”

Pack your bags and clear your desk, Shoesmith.

One down, thousands more to go…