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Council chiefs in Walsall under fire over stabbed boy

Calls are being made for council bosses to stand before an upcoming meeting and explain the 'unacceptable' support offered to a nine-year-old boy who was allegedly stabbed by his father, despite being known to authorities his whole life.

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A serious case review, carried out after the child was taken to A&E last March with a 1cm cut on the back of his neck and back, leg and arm injuries, has criticised agencies working with families in Walsall.

A report published yesterday made 43 recommendations for the council, local NHS organisations, West Midlands Police and ambulance service. Sean Coughlan, deputy leader of Walsall Labour group, said children's services chiefs should appear at the next full council meeting in April and explain what happened.

He said the council needed to reassure the public it was doing its utmost to protect children in the borough.

And he raised concerns that £5 million cuts to children's services will make existing problems even worse. He added: "This horrifying incident has once again shown how local authorities and related agencies can never relax when it comes to the protection of children in our communities. It came to light only nine months after Ofsted's damning report in Walsall council's children services and at a time when the authority was saying how it had improved. We need to know how these circumstances came about and how the council is implementing the recommendations from the Safeguarding Children Board?"

"We also need to know how the council intends to improve its safeguarding services for children when its budget is due to be cut by £5 million in the coming year."

Robert Lake, independent chairman of Walsall's Safeguarding Children Board, said a number of measures had been brought in over the past 12 months and improvements have been made, with further plans now in place.

Rose Collinson, interim executive director for children's services at Walsall Council, said there was also a multi-agency screening team to make an early decision on whether support was needed.

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