More vulnerable children like Star Hobson will be murdered if council leaders can’t do their jobs

More children like Star Hobson and Arthur Labinjo-Hughes could be murdered if councils in charge of vulnerable children cannot do their jobs, the Education Secretary has been warned.

A cross-party group of MPs has written to Kit Malthouse, the Education Secretary, to tell him that they are “extremely concerned” about whether the chief executives of Solihull and Bradford Councils can improve children’s services following the deaths of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson.

The Education Select Committee’s letter comes after it spoke to the senior officials from both councils and said it found their reassurances “inadequate”.

The Committee added it was “extremely concerned as to whether the current leadership of Solihull and Bradford Councils will be able to safeguard other vulnerable children”.

Six-year-old Arthur from Solihull, West Midlands, was poisoned, starved and beaten. He died in 2020.

His stepmother Emma Tustin, 32, was jailed for life in December last year with a minimum term of 29 years for murder. His father, Thomas Hughes, 29, is serving 24 years for manslaughter, a sentence increased on appeal.

Star was just 16 months old when she was murdered by her mother’s girlfriend, Savannah Brockhill, at her home in Keighley, West Yorkshire, in September 2020.

Star’s mother, Frankie Smith, 20, was found guilty of causing or allowing the youngster’s death.

The committee’s letter to Mr Malthouse questioned whether Solihull chief executive, Nick Page, and Bradford chief executive, Kersten England, were “best placed to continue to lead and oversee the state of Children’s Services in both authorities”.

It continued: “We had hoped that these local authority representatives would provide us with an explanation of why major failings were made by both Council’s Children’s Services in the cases of Arthur and Star and provide us with evidence and reassurance that those failings will never happen again.

“Unfortunately, we found the responses from both councils inadequate, leaving us extremely concerned as to whether the current leadership of Solihull and Bradford Councils will be able to safeguard other vulnerable children.”

The group of MPs also called on ministers to make sure that commitments made by both council bosses to improve services over 12 months were followed through.

Otherwise, it warned that the Department for Education and Ofsted should consider “whether both chief executives are capable of continuing to try and establish such significant change”.

Robert Halfon MP, Conservative chair of the committee, said: “The deaths of Arthur and Star were harrowing. Both Bradford and Solihull Councils’ children’s services were in dire need of improvements even before the lockdowns. Action was not taken, and two children lost their lives.

“The new Education Secretary must prioritise the vulnerable children currently being failed by these authorities and take the steps to ensure targets for improvement are being met, and fast.

“There must be accountability, and it is essential that the leaders responsible for the most at-risk children in our society are up to the job.”

Clare Kelly, associate head of policy at the NSPCC, said: “The murders of Star and Arthur sparked a national outcry over how children are being let down by a system in need of radical reform.”

“It’s crucial that all leaders including Solihull and Bradford have a clear and direct focus on implementing the local recommendations,” she added.

“Meanwhile, the new Education Secretary should publish the Government’s action plan in response to the Review - which was released several months ago - as soon as possible while considering the impact the cost-of-living crisis will have on children experiencing abuse and neglect.”

A spokesperson for Bradford Council said: “It is a matter of public record that we acknowledge and fully accept the findings of the National Panel report which was led by Annie Hudson into the horrific deaths of Star and Arthur.

“As a council we are clear about the actions we need to take to improve services and make sure that children in our district are safe. We are implementing these at pace. We cooperated fully with the Department for Education’s Commissioner-led review which was a thorough appraisal of the challenges that have faced children’s services. The most recent Ofsted monitoring visit, the result of which was published this month, has also highlighted recent improvements in the delivery of services.

“We are currently working well with the Department for Education and we are making good progress towards establishing the Bradford Children and Families Trust which was a key recommendation from the Commissioner’s review.”

Nick Page, Solihull’s chief executive, responding to the Education Select Committee’s letter, said: “The tragic circumstances around Arthur Labinjo-Hughes’ murder, by the very people meant to love and care for him, has had a shocking impact on Arthur’s family, me personally and across the whole Solihull community and nationally.

“I have acknowledged and accepted the findings of both the JTAI and the National Panel reports and been committed to improving safeguarding in Solihull.

“We have already made important improvements to our practices through our Improvement Board overseen by independent chair, Penny Thompson CBE.

“I understand that people want to see action and that we are making a positive difference to children and young people’s lives in Solihull.

“This is why I am determined to continue to lead our efforts to make the necessary changes, to drive through the recommendations.

“We have now appointed a brand new leadership team within Children’s Services with Pete Campbell taking up the director’s role in October, and two assistant directors already in post.

“It would be too easy to walk away now, particularly with this level of criticism, however, I honestly feel I am best placed to work with colleagues and partners to address the issues we face.

“This is extremely complex and difficult work that few outside the profession really understand, changing leadership now would be detrimental to the improvement journey we are on.”