Daily roundup: Sexual exploitation, resignation call and Sandwell criticised
Neil Puffett
Friday, August 2, 2013
Daily roundup: Ten men charged with child sexual exploitation; MP calls for Coventry's children services chief to step down; and inspectors criticise child protection in Sandwell, all in the news today.
![The ten men have been charged with offences alleged to have been committed between May and September last year. Image: Phil Adams](/media/140089/ebd6fd45e322d9b811834800d3b0394bgif-350x250.gif?&width=780&quality=60)
Ten men have been charged with child sexual exploitation offences including rape, sexual assault and trafficking. The BBC reports that the offences relate to at least five girls aged between 16 and 18 and are alleged to have been committed in Coventry between May and September 2012.
An MP has called for the director of children’s services in Coventry to stand down in the wake of the convictions of two people for the murder of four-year-old Daniel Pelka. The Daily Mail reports that Coventry DCS Colin Green is already due to leave the post next month but Labour MP Geoffrey Robinson said he should step down immediately. “He [Green] takes with him the indelible stain of Daniel's cruel death, which his department had failed to prevent,” Robinson said.
Services for looked-after children at Sandwell Council have been rated as “inadequate” following an inspection by Ofsted. The Wolverhampton Express & Star reports that the judgement comes just months after the wider children’s services department was given the same rating. Inspectors found that too many children were not receiving a good enough service, and were facing “drift and delay” in their care. The authority’s lead member for children’s services Simon Hackett criticised Ofsted for carrying out the inspection just months after its previous visit in April, but insisted the authority was doing all it could to improve.
New guidance has been published by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) on how to prevent domestic violence and abuse between family members. The guidance covers both adults and young people who are experiencing, or have experienced, domestic violence, and children who are exposed to domestic violence.
Not all the money saved from the closure of two children's homes in Cornwall will be reinvested back into services. Most of the cash saved by the closure of the "inadequate" children's homes will be spent on children who are on "the edge of care", while nearly £1m will be invested into developing new ways of providing help and support to young people in Cornwall. However, thisisthewestcountry.co.uk reports that some of the money will go towards savings required by the children services department, despite claims the move is "not about budget cuts".
Worried parents have held a protest against proposed cuts to children's centres in Warwickshire. The Leamington Observer reports that the council is looking to save £2.3m from its early years budget by 2014/15. A total of six children's centres are facing closure. A public consultation on the proposals will run until August 27.