Social Services Department

The Social Services department was split c2001, with adult services being dealt with by Community Services for Adults, while Children's Services joined with education to form Education and Children's Service. This split (a pioneering move nationally, in advance of similar reorganisations in Wales and England after the Children Act 2004) was reversed in 2005/6 with the formation of a Community and Children's Services Dept in RCT. It followed concern expressed by WAG that child protection issues nationally were best dealt with by a social services department. However, most other councils in Wales and England did not change back, preferring to keep all services for children, including education, under one department. In Wales each council then appointed a single designated Director of Social Services to provide the cross-department overview.