East Riding residents will be shocked to learn that over 500 East Riding families are in crisis.

On 22 June 2021 Yvonne Rhodes, ERYC Head of Business Management and Commissioning confirmed:

“We have in excess of 500 people living at home with their families and we need to allow them to access services in order to support their carers, that isn’t about respite for carers it is about meeting our statutory duties to them and the looked after person. We consider most of those families as approaching crisis.”

It is impossible, and disingenuous, to claim over 500 families are “approaching crisis” as:

“In crisis is any event or period of time that will lead, or may lead, to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting a child or young person and their family if they do not receive early intervention or support.”

There is no such thing as “approaching crisis”. A family is either in crisis or not in crisis.

Crisis is when early intervention and prevention has not happened, this on many occasions can leave a child at risk of significant harm.

With over 500 families “approaching crisis” this demonstrates that Senior Officers and  Councillors at ERYC have failed to ensure the required early intervention and prevention.

To prevent more East Riding families from going into crisis it would appear to me that the only solution is to place ERYC Children Services in Special Measures.

Further Information

It would seem that ERYC has learnt nothing from the damning 2019 Ofsted Report.

• East Riding of Yorkshire – Ofsted Report – Inspection of Local Authority Childrens Services – December 2019

ERYC Children Services are clearly spiralling out of control and not fit for purpose.