‘Only luck another child has not died’
Whistleblower alert as ‘300 kids are left without a social worker’
MORE than 300 at-risk children were left for months without a social worker at a crisis-hit council.
Whistleblower Dorcas Taylor says it is “only luck” that a child abuse tragedy has not already happened there.
She accused an improvement team brought in at Herefordshire Council of “running around like headless chickens”.
Dorcas, who was a temporary service manager with the council until two weeks ago, said children at high risk had been left without intervention.
She has been unable to sleep for fear a child will suffer the same fate as tragic Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, six.
He died in June 2020 after a campaign of abuse by stepmum Emma Tustin and dad Thomas Hughes after social workers in Solihull failed to intervene.
In Hereford, Dorcas, 61, repeatedly emailed senior staff about her “serious and significant” concerns.
She says: “I’ve never seen anything so dangerous, or so upsetting.
“We could absolutely be looking at the next Arthur. I think it’s more good luck than management that there hasn’t been a death. There will be children being physically, sexually, emotionally harmed, and exploited, and we’ve not been there to intervene.
“These children hadn’t been seen at all, one of them since September.
“There were others who hadn’t been seen since December.”
Government adviser Gladys Rhodes White was drafted in last year after a High Court judge slated the state of Herefordshire’s children’s social work as “shocking”.
Mr Justice Keehan criticised managers and frontline staff for “appalling” treatment of children.
A Freedom of Information request showed the council paid £290,000 in damages over five years for breaches of children’s and families’ human rights.
Dorcas said: “This improvement team has had over 12 months to get on top of child protection and here they are still running around like headless chickens.
“Where is the justice for those children when we neglect them?” Dorcas says she went public to call out “complacent and dangerous” senior officials at the local authority.
Internal emails seen by the Sunday Mirror show senior staff have repeatedly acknowledged children in the most at-risk category have been left without a social worker.
Herefordshire Council says all children now have a social worker, though the Mirror understands some assessments are yet to be completed.
Chief executive Paul Walker apologised for “serious failings”.
He added: “We have made changes so children and families get the quality of support they need.
“This takes time and some changes have taken longer than I would like.
“We are one year into our three-year plan to improve services.”
Ms Rhodes White said in a statement: “Prompt and appropriate actions were and are being taken.
“I remain totally committed to improving services for children and families.”