We already knew we were in a bad way through our own internal checks – and in fact we told Ofsted we’d fail an inspection.

That’s why we signed a contract at the end of last year with a private sector specialist called iMPOWER for a package of support and an experienced Director of Children’s Services, Simon White.

It was one of the very few positives in the report –although Ofsted said the partnership hadn’t had long enough to make a real impact.

Saying that, I won’t make any excuses because there aren’t any. I accept the verdict and have already said sorry to children and young people in the borough; we have let them down and that is unacceptable.

That’s why I think it right the cabinet member in charge, Councillor Bob Badham, and the service director Helen Smith, have stepped down from their posts.

Bob was a cabinet member for a long time and he did a lot of good work but child protection is a basic we have to get right, full stop.

In fact it’s also why I have asked Councillor Simon Hackett to take over our children’s services.  I’ve worked with him for several years and he has shown real drive, enthusiasm and determination.

A father of four, a local man and an experienced cabinet member, he’s a straight-talker who gets things done.  It’s a big challenge but I’m sure he will turn things around quickly.

 I won’t say it’s going to be easy, but I will say we are going to get there, whatever it takes.  That’s a promise.

Bearwood Primary has entered a competition with the TES – or the Times Educational Supplement as I still think of it – to win a school building.

The school submitted a 300-word entry, a 30-second video and some photos – and has now been shortlisted down to the final six.

You can give the school’s entry a boost by voting for it.

Voting is currently open and remains so until 14 February 2013. You’ll need to log into the TES to vote and it is free to do so.

To vote please click here and create a TES login:

The school plans to use the new building as a library and family learning space if it wins.I’m sure we’d all like to help…. so please do what you can.

There’s been a real outpouring of community spirit as people help each other out – and that’s joined up with council services to keep the borough going.

Take our Snow Champions scheme, for example.

That’s the one where as a council we harness people’s willingness to help out in their communities by giving them shovels, tubs of rock salt and a high-visibility vest.

The deal is that they use the gear to help others at times like this – by clearing the path to someone’s house, say, or the pavement in their street.

The scheme was a big hit last year so we’ve expanded it in 2013 and it’s working really well – so much so it was featured on BBC1 TV’s Six o’ Clock News last Friday.

We all, of course, owe a big debt of gratitude to the council’s gritters. They’ve been working tirelessly on Sandwell’s roads ever since the bad weather started and they’re doing a great job to keep Sandwell moving.

There’ve been lots of other council workers, too, who’ve gone the extra mile to stay on top of things in trying circumstances.

I know we’ve had nice comments on Facebook and Twitter about our efforts, including lots from people who’ve been grateful for the way we’ve used social media to keep the public up to date with what’s happening.

I’d like to say a massive, ‘Thank you’, to everybody for all their hard work and efforts.

To my mind it shows Sandwell is indeed a great place with great people and performance – and prospects that are rising all the time.

Literally hundreds of mourners gathered at the town’s crematorium to pay their last respects.

People from all walks of life and communities – Asian, black and white – came together to remember and celebrate a great man.

It was a fitting reflection of the respect everyone has for a gentle, unselfish human being.

I was personally honoured to speak at the service – and highlight one of the reasons why I felt so humble.

Lord King, of course, was leader of Sandwell Council for four years at the turn of the century.

As I told the service, he filled that role with great skill, with compassion and with the best interests of everyone in Sandwell always uppermost in his mind.

As current leader, I can only hope to do the job half as well.

I’m hoping that the council will be able in the next few weeks to stage a civic memorial service for Lord King.

We won’t go over the top. Nothing would be less appropriate for a man like Tarsem.

But I would like to think we can organise something simple but fitting for such a courteous and thoughtful servant of the people.

PS: I should say a big, ‘Thank you’, to council staff – at the crematorium and from highways and parking – who helped organise the arrangements for today’s service.  A great job.

He was one of the giants of civic and political life in Sandwell in recent decades, and many, many people in the borough – and further afield – will miss him greatly.

I know that I for one will.

The details of Lord King’s public service are a testament in themselves to the influence he had.

He was a councillor from 1979 to 2007, leader from 1997 to 2001 and mayor in 2001/02.

He became the first Sikh member of the House of Lords in 1999.

Back home he became an Honorary Alderman in Sandwell in 2008 and an Honorary Freeman the following year.

His contribution to Sandwell was immense. He tirelessly served the whole community.

He deepened that contribution on the national stage when he was made a life peer, an honour he greatly deserved.

I will always remember him as, literally, a gentle man, one of the most courteous and thoughtful of people I have ever met.

My thoughts at this time are with his family.

So I thought it would be a good time to remind you about the council’s Snow Champion campaign.

Elderly and disabled people who are otherwise independent can struggle to get out of the house when it snows. And there’s the added risk of them falling on snow and ice in winter.

These are the people who need a bit of help – and that’s why I came up with the idea of Snow Champions.

It’s easy really. The council gives out free snow shovels and tubs of salt to people willing to help clear pavements and paths when it snows.

Last winter’s campaign was a great success and more than 2,500 Snow Champions signed up. We ran out of kits before everyone who wanted one could get one.

So this year, we’ve got 5,000 kits to give away. Nearly half of those have gone already, but there’s still time to sign up if you want one.

That’s 5,000 snow shovels and more than 15 tonnes of salt for the community to use where it’s needed. Plus there’s the 2,500 people who signed up last year who we’ve given an extra salt tub.

The easiest way is to sign up online by going to the council website – www.sandwell.gov.uk/snowchampion

I was so proud to see our Snow Champions helping others last winter.

If we can stop just one person from slipping and falling on snow this winter, then in my opinion the Snow Champion campaign has paid for itself.

Not only that, it’s about helping people to stay safe, to stay independent and to create a feeling of community.

If you live in Sandwell and you haven’t signed up to be a Snow Champion yet, please do.

The Government has at last said yes to a brand new £400m hospital in Smethwick.

The Midland Metropolitan Hospital will be a big plus, offering local people first class healthcare and creating lots of jobs, including ones in the hard-pressed building industry.

All good, you might think. Well yes, but….

Why has it taken so long for the Chancellor to give the scheme the go ahead?

The plans were ready to go a long time ago and we could have been a lot further down the road than we are, boosting the local economy now rather than in several years’ time.

Still, at least the money is coming.

Which you can’t say for the Chancellor’s announcement of help for schools -the bulk of it is likely to go on more primary places at academies and free schools (which incidentally I reckon means Portacabins).

This won’t be any good to our secondary schools’ rebuilding programme, which was scrapped by the Government almost as soon as it got into power.

We will keep fighting to save the scheme.

And today’s silver lining, I guess, is  the Chancellor’s about-turn on big investment schemes gives more hope to our campaign.

Watch this space…

PS – I know some people are worried about getting to the new hospital in Smethwick from other parts of the borough  – and we have held talks with Centro to make sure public transport does a good job.

image

Most of them will know by now about plans for a statue in West Brom town centre to celebrate the achievements of Laurie Cunningham, Cyrille Regis and Brendon Batson.

They, of course, were an inspirational part of the great Albion side of the late ‘70s and they blazed a trail for black footballers in this country.

Now – as part of plans to raise cash to pay for the statue – a commemorative magazine has been launched to highlight their careers.

The 64-page ‘Celebration 1979’ details their achievements and examines the influence they have had on the modern game.

It contains tributes from legends of the game, looks at some of the key matches of the 1978/79 season and features rare and previously unseen photographs, illustrations and memorabilia.

I remember vividly just how great the side we had then was. It was fantastic to watch – fast, fluent, exciting, attacking football which was a match for the best in the country at the time.

So for fans like me, reading this magazine is like taking a trip down memory lane.

Looks to me like an ideal Christmas present for the Baggies fan in your life!

NB: The magazine, which costs just £5, will be available at locations across the Black Country including Tesco store in West Bromwich and the WBA club shop. It is also available online.

To learn more or to get involved with the Celebration Statue, please call Jim Cadman on 07971 624627 or email jwc@celebrationstatue1979.com

This really is super news.

It’s good for the members of the society and its staff and it’s good for the council’s drive to regenerate West Bromwich town centre.

Remember, the centre’s already drawing in some £400 million-worth of development, mostly from the private sector.

We’re on track to get new shops, new leisure facilities and thousands of new jobs for the people of Sandwell there – and theWest Brom’s new HQ at the Providence Place site will add to the momentum that’s building up.

It’s all more proof that we’re going places.

Business are confident now about working with the council and they’re getting the message we’re open for business.

The society and the Baggies are the two big names that help put West Brom– and therefore Sandwell – on the map across the country.

It’s only right that they’re both here for the future and I’m delighted that’s the case.

Who would have thought we’d be up there in the top four of the Premiership after 12 games?

And who would have thought we’d get there after beating European champions Chelsea at fortress Hawthorns (for the second season running)?

It’s a great time to be a Baggies fan.

Let’s enjoy it for as long as we can without losing sight of the fact that our overriding aim this season must be first and foremost to stay in the Premiership again.

Anything over and above that – bettering last season’s finish, getting to Europe, a good run in the FA Cup etc – will be a bonus.

Let’s not forget, too, that we’re due to lose key players like Mulumbu next month when the African championships kick in.

But we can, of course, ask ourselves how have we got to our current nosebleed territory, and my view is that fans owe a massive debt of gratitude to chairman Jeremy Peace.

Regular blog readers will know I’ve had my disagreements with Jeremy in the past but it is undeniable that he has brought stability and long-term, sensible financial planning to the Albion which are now paying off on the pitch.

And can’t he pick a manager?

Still early-ish days, I know, but it’s beginning to look as if Steve Clarke’s going to be the managerial find of the year.

PS: Here’s a strange thing: if Southampton had managed to score when they came to West Brom a few weeks back, our last five games would have finished up with a 2 – 1 scoreline.

Is that a pointer for the Sunderland match this weekend?