Government inspectors have praised the progress being made to improve the safeguarding of children and to reduce the number of burglaries in Leeds.

In December last year both issues attracted ‘red flags’ under a new inspection process called ‘One Place’.

One Place combined reports prepared by the Care Quality Commission, Ofsted, the Audit Commission and Her Majesty’s Inspectorates of Constabulary, Prisons and Probation. The results were published on a new website.

Now, just four months on, the website has been updated to reflect the progress being made in Leeds with inspectors acknowledging the work done so far.

On the issue of burglaries they say:

“Key public services are working together to target areas of the city where burglary rates are highest, with a range of preventative measures.

“They are sharing intelligence, proactively managing offenders to try and cut re-offending, and improving security for homes and businesses.

“The early signs are that this work is making a difference as burglary rates are now more stable and the rate of increase is slowing down.

“This suggests that the work undertaken to date is starting to have an impact.”

And on children’s services they say:

“Following a full inspection of safeguarding and looked after children services, the council has introduced a detailed improvement strategy and is working with partners on a range of actions which aim to tackle this situation.

“Eight advanced practitioners have been appointed and a second wave of recruitment is underway.

“Social workers' caseloads have been reviewed and the council has invested additional money to increase the frontline workforce and bring caseloads to an acceptable level.”

Councillor Richard Brett, Leeds City Council executive board member for performance and improvement, said:

“I am delighted that the inspectors have been able to see the progress that we are making.

“We’ve been determined to make immediate improvements with the actions we have been taking to tackle the issues highlighted in December’s One Place report.

“The fact our progress has been acknowledged so quickly is welcome news.

“However, we realise that there is still lots of work to do before we achieve all of the improvements that are needed.

“It remains our goal to ensure we continue to provide efficient and effective services for the people of Leeds.”