The not-unexpected departure of Birmingham’s strategic director of children’s services seems to have brought to the surface all that was wrong with the department.

Anyone paying even the most casual attention to current affairs in Birmingham will be aware that children’s social services seem to have been stumbling from crisis to crisis over much of the last decade.

Serious case review has followed serious case review.

Toni Ann Byfield, Khyra Ishaq and Keanu Williams are among those young children who died through abuse and cruelty, even though they were known to Birmingham social services.

In four years, there have been four directors overseeing, and a fifth, Peter Hay, is now temporarily in place following the protracted departure of Peter Duxbury last week.

Mr Hay ran children’s social care between 2003 and 2005, before it was separated from adult social services and tethered to the education department and was thought to have done a pretty good job.

The revelation that six out of 12 senior officers in the department were temporary or interim appointees added to the impression of chaos at the top.

Meanwhile, all indications are that there has been little improvement in key areas; social workers still have too many cases, child protection reports are of poor quality and frequently late and there are massive problems with staff morale, recruitment and retention.

There has also been little stability with the political leadership and the latest Cabinet member, Brigid Jones, is coming under increasing pressure to deliver improvement.

To say her appointment last year was a surprise would be a massive understatement.

Having served only one year as a councillor before being elevated to Cabinet, she is a political novice and is now being targeted by the opposition.

It is no secret that she did not get on well with Mr Duxbury and their appearances, both individually and together, this last year before the tenacious education and vulnerable children scrutiny committee have been far from convincing.

Two emails from Labour colleagues were leaked this week. In one, Coun Majid Mahmood (Hodge Hill) described a dysfunctional department in ‘meltdown’.

In a second Coun Catharine Grundy (Kingstanding), a previous Cabinet member for education who was overlooked for a post last year, criticised the slow pace of progress as ‘disgraceful’.

And sources claiming to work for the department, who contacted the press in the light of Mr Duxbury’s departure, painted a picture of a department where morale was at rock bottom, a toxic atmosphere persisted and there were high stress levels – a massive problem for a workforce whose primary concern should be the city’s vulnerable children.

Workers also claimed they felt unable to raise concerns, for fear of being singled out, and believed they had been kept in the dark over Mr Duxbury’s departure.

Coun Jones and Mr Hay, in a brief chat with me, wanted to talk about stability and continuity. They wanted to assure the department that there would be no more restructures – just a focus on frontline performance and child protection with the plan in place.

“I think we’ve had enough restructuring,” Coun Jones said.

That was also a warning that the last thing this troubled organisation needs is the direct intervention of Education Secretaty Michael Gove, who recently took over children’s services in Doncaster.

They have embarked on a massive trust rebuilding exercise and have spent the last few days meeting and briefing managers.

Having come to the conclusion that children are being failed, they need to make improvements – fast.

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A few of our city councillors might want to think twice before putting themselves forward for the psychometric tests being organised on their behalf.

You certainly do not need a shrink to tell you that some have delusions of grandeur, attention seekers, are fiercely ambitious, and in a handful of cases I am too discreet to identify, even may be borderline sociopaths.

But I can’t help wondering what the answer will be when a counsellor turns to Tory deputy leader Robert Alden, who is of course the son of Coun Deirdre Alden, and asks: “Tell me about your mother?”.

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The 2015 General Election campaign is now well and truly under way in Birmingham – with the seat most likely to change hands, Yardley, set to become the focus of campaigning.

Liberal Democrat John Hemming, as the sitting MP with a strong local following, is in pole position.

But Labour is targeting the seat with challenger Jess Phillips.

Both have dominant personalities and enjoy the limelight.

This week saw the Labour councillor take Shadow Cabinet spokesman for education Stephen Twigg MP on a tour of the impressive Stechford Primary School.

They enjoyed, among other things, a nursery graduation ceremony and a question and answer session with some reluctant 11-year-olds.

Labour Party officials said that shadow cabinet visit would the first of many as they attempt to overturn Mr Hemming’s 3,002 majority.

In fact, the full force of their Birmingham campaign machine will be directed at this small corner of the city.

Pity the poor people of Yardley.