News that Powys County Council’s adult services are to be inspected by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) has been welcomed by the county council.

The council received formal notification from the inspectorate that the service would be inspected during January with feedback provided later in the year. The council was last inspected by CCSIW in 2015.

Council Leader, Councillor Rosemarie Harris said; “The council was due an inspection of its adult service next summer but was expecting an earlier visit following comments in the wake of the children services inspection recommendations. While inspections can be daunting for staff and elected members they are a valuable tool for service improvement.

“The 2015 inspection, which followed concerns surrounding changes to our domiciliary care service, was insightful and provided helpful advice to improve the way we manage and deliver service to our residents.”

Cabinet member for Adults Services, Councillor Stephen Hayes said; “Inspections provide us with the opportunity to test the effectiveness of our services and provide us with valuable information about areas where we need to strengthen operations.

“We are already reviewing the service with improvement through urgent action to reduce waiting lists for assessments and domiciliary care by increasing capacity in reablement and fieldwork services.

“We welcome the inspection and I am sure it will provide excellent feedback and provide us with valuable information to further improve the service.”

In October a damning report into children’s services at Powys County Council prompted widespread condemnation.The report, issued by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate (CSSIW) found the council’s service did not meet the standards expected.

Inspectors found that children and young people did not appear to be well served by the current arrangements for accessing support services in Powys and that ‘a lack of assessment, care and support planning combined with an inconsistent approach to working in line with the child sexual exploitation guidance and the management of sexual exploitation and risk assessment placed children at risk of harm’.