Children in town where Arthur Labinjo-Hughes lived are being ‘significantly harmed’ due to delay in responses from ‘inadequate’ council services, Ofsted says
- Ofsted inspection said that children in Solihull aren’t getting the help they need
- They ruled that the services provided to children and families were inadequate
- The report identified ‘serious’ and ‘widespread’ failings across services
- Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was killed in 2020 by his father and stepmother
- The 6-year-old was deprived of food and made to stand for 14 hours a day
Children in Solihull, where Arthur Labinjo-Hughes lived before he was brutally murdered, are experiencing ‘significant harm’ due to delayed council services, an Ofsted report has found.
An inspection of Solihull local authority children’s services which took place in November last year found that they were ‘inadequate’.
The report says that delays in response had led to children experiencing ‘significant harm’.
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was repeatedly tortured by his father Thomas Hughes and his stepmother Emma Tustin.
He was killed by Tustin and Hughes at their home in Solihull in June 2020.
The child was murdered as a result of having his head banged ‘repeatedly against a hard surface’ by Tustin.
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, from Solihull, was killed by his father Thomas Hughes and his stepmother Emma Tustin in June 2020 at their home
Arthur, six, was deprived of food, made to stand for 14 hours a day and poisoned with salt
The six-year-old was deprived of food, made to stand for 14 hours a day and poisoned with salt.
The report, which was published on Friday, details that much improvement is needed, including: ‘The timeliness and quality of decision-making in relation to concerns received about children and allocation to a social worker to ensure that children are seen without delay.’
It also says that when there is concern about a child who is at risk of harm, the response is ‘too slow’.
Thomas Hughes (right) was jailed for a minimum of 24 years and Emma Tustin (left) was jailed for a minimum of 29 years
The services in Solihull were ranked ‘inadequate’ in all four areas from their November inspection by Ofsted
Hughes was jailed for a minimum of 24 years, after having his sentence increased by three years, and Tustin was jailed for a minimum of 29 years in December 2021.
In the last service inspection, conducted in 2019 before Arthur’s death, they were ranked ‘requires improvement to be good’.
However, the report said the quality and impact of social work across all areas have ‘significantly deteriorated’ since that time.
The report also stated that leaders and partners ‘did not have an accurate understanding of the poor quality of practice and experiences of children.’
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