Councils told to improve dismissal processes to avoid Shoesmith-style payouts

Shoesmith, who was director of children's services at Haringey Council when Peter Connelly was killed, has agreed a six-figure payout worth anything up to £600,000 with her former employer, BBC's Newsnight programme revealed.

David Simmonds, chair of the Local Government Association’s children and young people board told CYP Now that the way in which Shoesmith was dismissed from her position in 2008 without a payoff or pension highlighted apparent “confusion” about the processes involved.

“There is a lesson to be learned for all of us,” Simmonds said.

“If local authorities are concerned about the performance of individuals and they are to be dismissed, they need to make sure they follow proper processes.

“All concerned didn’t handle the situation as well as they could have done.”

Simmonds added that the issue is particularly pertinent for local authority children’s services due to the amount of churn in the top job.

Fifty-two out of 152 DCSs moved between July 2012 and July 2013 (34.3 per cent).

Earlier this month, Haringey appointed Lisa Redfern to be interim director of children's services after making Libby Blake redundant as part of a wider restructure.

“Turnover of directors of children’s services is quite high so we all need to be confident we have effective performance management in place to ensure we don’t have this type of situation arising,” Simmonds said.

Speaking to CYP Now earlier this month, Shoesmith said children's services directors are in a "close to impossible" position.

"You look at politicians who for one reason or other have had to resign or got into difficulty and they come back. It's the role they resign from," she said.

"But when you're a DCS, it's personal. You suddenly have no past worthy of mention and no future. It wipes you out. It's almost as if you are tainted as a murderer."

"If people asked me, I'd probably say, don't become a DCS until you are 55 and don't stay more than two or three years.

"Go into it with an agreement right from the start that if a child dies, you'll walk but you'll get your pension."

It is understood that the Department for Education (DfE) could cover the cost of as much as half of Shoesmith's payout.

Former children's minister Tim Loughton has said that the deal struck between Shoesmith and Haringey Counil "stinks".

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the payout became "inevitable" after the Court of Appeal ruled that former children's secretary Ed Balls "had made a complete botched job of her dismissal".

At the time, Balls said Shoesmith was "not fit for office” and she was later dismissed after a damning Ofsted report.

Loughton said: "This is going to leave a really bad taste in taxpayers' mouths that a not insubstantial amount of public money is being used to pay off somebody who presided over a dysfunctional department in Haringey [where] a 17-month-old boy died in horrific circumstances.

"We are effectively rewarding failure and when you are appointed a director of children's services... the buck has to stop somewhere and somebody has to take responsibility, and you don't expect that person... to get a large cheque on the back of it as well."

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Balls defended his part in Shoesmith's dismissal, stating that although as Secretary of State, he had stripped her of the role of director of children's services, it was Haringey that removed her from the position at the authority.

"She was removed from her post by Haringey Council who were her employer and that was an employment law decision," he said.

"Whether or not Haringey did that right or wrong is a matter for Haringey but this comes down to whether I, as secretary of state, had the power in law to remove her from her statutory role as director of children’s services - that is not a job, that is a public office."

"And we were clear at the time and I am clear today that that was my right in law, in fact it was my duty to keep children safe."

A spokesman for Haringey Council said: "Following the decision of the Court of Appeal in favour of Ms Shoesmith, and the court's direction that the parties seek to resolve the issue of compensation, the London Borough of Haringey and Ms Shoesmith have reached a settlement in this case.

"The terms of the settlement are confidential. We are unable to comment further on this matter."

The DfE has declined to comment.