Ten councils score zero for ability to provide care

New government league table shows many local authorities are unable to protect children and the elderly

The ten worst social services departments in England have been given a zero rating in a league table that exposes the poor quality of care offered to vulnerable children and pensioners in many areas.

Private consultants will be sent into four councils – Northeast Lincolnshire, Birmingham, Coventry and Walsall – to improve standards. Six other councils will face intervention if their performances have not improved in six months' time.

One of the six, Haringey, in north London, has been criticised ferociously by Lord Laming, the chairman of a public inquiry into why the authorities missed so many chances to prevent the murder of the eight-year-old abuse victim Victoria Climbie.

The authority is expected to receive much of the blame for the scandal when Lord Laming reports later this year. Ministers could then take drastic action to overhaul Haringey's management. "Haringey will be roasted," a source said.

In the first star ratings of the 151 social services departments in England, the Social Services Inspectorate awarded three, two, one or zero stars for overall quality of care.

Eight councils won three stars, with the two Tory-led London boroughs, Kensington and Chelsea, and Westminster, coming joint top because of their "excellent" prospects and capacity to serve most people well. But more than half the councils, 84 in total, won just one star and many of those were classed as having "uncertain" prospects, suggesting that services as a whole are no better than mediocre.

Jacqui Smith, a Health minister, said the star system would be an incentive for local authorities to improve their performances because three-star councils would have less Whitehall interference and more freedom in how they spent grant money.

She said 69 per cent of councils had excellent or promising prospects for improvement. But she added: "I make no apology for the fact that star ratings will focus people's attention on social services. It will focus attention on three-star councils and show that excellence is possible in social services. It will also show which councils are not performing as they should."

Among the zero stars, Walsall in the West Midlands won the worst possible rating. Its poor performance in social services was said to be part of a "corporate failure" across the council as a whole. Concerns about Walsall's management have been voiced by the Audit Commission, while Ofsted has criticised its schools. Denise Platt, the chief inspector of social services, will meet leaders of the council today before a "performance action team" made up of private management consultants arrives to start a rescue plan.

Consultants will also overhaul North-east Lincolnshire, which has been struggling for three years to improve its social services, Coventry, and Birmingham, where children's services are deemed very poor. As for other authorities with poor marks for children, inspectors raised concerns about Birmingham not allocating social workers to all children at risk of abuse. They also cited a failure to work closely with hospitals so elderly patients could be returned home.

Unless the 10 zero-rated authorities improve by November, ministers will order further action, which could include a review of all social services functions or the imposition of external management teams.

In the case of Haringey, Ms Platt said: "We are still in active discussions with Haringey. We will review what actions are necessary to take with any of the London councils involved in the Climbie inquiry when it reports". During the Climbie inquiry, Haringey repeatedly claimed its services for children were improving, but Ms Platt said: "Based on recent evidence, our judgement is that it is still a poor service."

Ms Smith said some councils had made remarkable progress in a short period. Hackney, Lambeth and Newham in London; Peterborough, Sheffield and Lancashire had secured one-star ratings despite failing last year. Kirklees, West Yorkshire, and Newcastle upon Tyne had also done well.