Still in denial

Listening to some of the bullshit emanating just recently from Swansea’s Council’s presiding officer, Wendy Fitzgerald, you might be tempted to think that everyone has joined her in moving on from the disaster zone she created in social services. Some hope!

The facts remain that prior to her arrival on the scene, it was councils such as Cardiff who were criticised for poor performance in childrens services whilst Swansea was lauded for its achievements. In 2003, the local authority was hailed as one of the best in Wales, and was praised for its approach, including practices designed to prevent escalating domestic problems and enabling children to remain at home in difficult circumstances.

The key was “dedicated specialist resources that have built up a wealth of expertise” - at least that was the view of former head of childrens services, Mark Roszkowski, who somehow became one of those listed as ‘missing-in-action’ sometime between the point that an official report highlighted how the Aaron Gilbert tragedy could have been avoided and the arrival of an Assembly appointed intervention team at County Hall.

There are those still working for the local authority who insist that the full extent of the shambolic state of social services under Fitzgerald has never actually been revealed. Yet the only sanction she ever suffered was a minor ‘demotion’ from cabinet member to Presiding Officer which saw her salary drop from £28,543 to £22,059 a year – a sum she receives for chairing council meetings every six weeks.

Such is the sad state of coalition politics in Swansea where keeping a deadbeat in clover to ensure a majority is the only priority for a Lib Dem council leadership.