“We’re Picking Up the Pieces”- New Council Leader Hits Out After Damning Social Care Report.

The new Leader of Havering Council has pledged to improve adult social care after the borough’s services were rated “Requires Improvement” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Responding to the findings, Councillor Keith Prince AM said his new Reform UK administration was “deeply disappointed” by the outcome and vowed to act swiftly to address the issues identified by inspectors.

The inspection took place in August 2025, before the current administration took control of the Council following the local elections in May 2026.

In a strongly worded statement, Councillor Prince criticised previous council administrations, arguing that difficult decisions had been avoided for too long.

“We are deeply disappointed to learn of the ‘Requires Improvement’ outcome for adult social care in the recently published CQC report. The site inspection took place in August 2025, before this administration took control of the Council in May 2026.”

He acknowledged the significant challenges facing the service, including increasing demand and ongoing financial pressures.

“It is true that the Council faces a significant financial challenge, together with ballooning demand for social care and a continuous lack of government funding.”

Councillor Prince went on to accuse previous administrations of failing to make the difficult decisions needed to protect frontline services.

“It is also clear from this outcome that the previous Havering Residents Association administration, along with other administrations before that, bottled it when it came to making difficult decisions.”

He added that, in his view, this had resulted in insufficient investment in adult social care.

“This means that investment in adult social care has been woefully inadequate, leaving the service creaking and vulnerable residents with a below-par experience. Let me reassure those residents: this changes, right now.”

The Council says an improvement plan is already being prepared to address the weaknesses identified by the CQC and will be brought before Cabinet as soon as possible.

“Reform will review this, and the Council acknowledges the outcome. In fact, the hard work has already started, with an improvement plan to address the areas of weakness identified by CQC, which will go before Cabinet as quickly as possible.”

Councillor Prince said his administration is committed to improving the quality of adult social care across the borough.

“My new Reform administration is determined to improve services in Havering and will work tirelessly with officers over the coming months to improve the experiences of Havering residents who need adult social care.”

He also highlighted plans to improve support for informal carers and young people transitioning from children’s services into adult care.

“This includes improving the experience of informal carers and our support for young adults moving from children’s social care into adulthood.”

Despite the overall rating, Councillor Prince welcomed the examples of good practice highlighted within the inspection.

“While the overall outcome is not up to scratch, I am pleased to say that some areas of good practice were identified. We are determined to build on these and make them even better as the service goes through its wider improvement journey.”

The Care Quality Commission’s findings and the Council’s forthcoming improvement plan are expected to play a significant role in shaping the future of adult social care services in Havering over the coming months.

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