Immediate release
Item number 246/04

Embargoed until Midday – November 18th

Star performance from Social Services
Assessment hails department for further improvement

Merton’s social services department has been awarded an enhanced star rating from the Government in recognition of its improved service provision over the past year.

The annual assessment by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) raised Merton’s award to two stars to put it in an elite 18 per cent per cent of local authorities to have recorded improved performance.

It is a rapid turn around for the department, which has made great strides over the past three years to its current position. The report reserved particular praise for Merton’s Services for Children stating the department was “serving most people well with a promising capacity for improvement.” The Services for Adults department was judged to be “serving some people well” also “with a promising capacity for improvement.”

The annual CSCI inspection assesses the performance of all 150 local authorities with social services responsibility across England and Wales against a set of standards and criteria.

The Director of Housing and Social Services for Merton, Rea Mattocks was delighted that the hard work of the staff and partners had been rewarded.

“We are very pleased that the work of our social services staff and our partners in education, health, the voluntary sector and the police have been recognised in this enhanced star rating for our social services department.

“The star rating is particularly important to us as it demonstrates to our service users and our carers that we are committed to improving services to them. We would like to thank our users and carers for working in partnership with us, helping us to understand their experiences and identifying ways in which we can better meet their needs.”

These sentiments were echoed by the Chief Executive of Merton Council, Ged Curran who said:

“I am grateful to everyone who has made this result possible. This two-star rating is a sign of the improvements being made in the council not only in terms of social services delivery but also of the overall ability of the council to improve.”

Merton’s’s Cabinet Member for Care Services, Councillor Andy Coles added:

“The total commitment of the officers and members staff of the social services department to their client group, together with strong political leadership, has ensured th