Children's services directors believe national targets and inspection regimes undermine their ability to respond to local needs. Research by the Local Government Information Unit, published on 3 February, reveals ‘major concerns about the implications of the new performance assessment framework on local priorities'. Two-thirds of local authorities report ‘some' or ‘many' concerns about the national indicators and local area agreement indicators in the Comprehensive Area Assessment and other regulatory processes. Only 5% expressed no concerns. The research also exposed concerns that councils have been forced to adopt national indicators in line with Whitehall – not local – priorities. The survey is likely to draw the attention of ministers following the death of Baby P in Haringey LBC, which led to the dismissal of the borough's director of children's services, Sharon Shoesmith. Jasmine Ali, head of LGIU's children's services unit, said: ‘We need to change the way in which council children's services departments are inspected, especially in the light of the tragic Baby P case. This requires moving away from a paper-based system to focusing on a more qualitative approach.'
