THE local authority whose social work department was heavily criticised in three separate inquiry reports into a horrific abuse case claims to have made sweeping changes to protect vulnerable adults in its care.

A progress report on the implementation of an action plan by Scottish Borders Council has been released ahead of findings from two more potentially damning investigations.

The long-awaited outcome of an inspection by the Social Work Services Inspectorate of the council’s support for individuals affected by learning disabilities is expected to be published by Scottish Executive ministers within a matter of days.

At the same time, the conclusions from a deficiency-of-care inquiry by the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland could be made public.

The series of specially commissioned and official inquiries followed the ordeal of a 30-year-old woman with learning difficulties, in what has become known as the “Miss X” case.

But to date, no-one has been disciplined, despite the strong criticisms made by all of the investigators.

The Scotsman understands that lawyers representing the victim, whose treatment at the hands of three tormenters triggered the crisis in the Borders social work department, have requested that the “Miss X” tag should be dropped, as its constant use over the past two years has caused her considerable distress. But so far there has been no request to members of the media to apply an alternative description when reporting on the continuing investigations surrounding the case.

A multi-agency, vulnerable adults protection committee has been set up in a bid to prevent further torture and abuse cases in the Borders.

At the same time, significant additional investment is being made to increase the number of frontline community care staff and to enhance supervisory arrangements.

The action plan incorporated many of the recommendations from Anne Black, an independent social work consultant, and Peter Bates, the chairman of NHS Tayside, after their respective inquiries.

Members of the council’s ruling executive were told yesterday that a raft of measures had already been implemented to strengthen procedures and to ensure that staff were aware of their professional responsibilities.

The progress report, written by Frances Stuart, the acting director of lifelong care, said social work employees had all been issued with the authority’s whistleblowing policy and had been briefed on its use.

“All managers within community care have participated in leadership development training through the University of Stirling to improve managerial skills and a less hierarchical style of management,” added Ms Stuart.

An external media consultant has also been engaged to advise on communications strategies with the public.

Councillors heard that ten trainee social workers had recently been recruited, and a bursary scheme was now in place.

Arrangements have also been made to start social workers’ salaries further up the scale so that the Borders can compete with other local authorities.

And the report outlined changes to deliver more rigorous supervision, as part of a restructuring plan for community care services. All cases with an active social work involvement will be reviewed by supervisors at least every 12 months.

“Arrangements are now in place to review all 450 cases of adults with a learning disability,” stated Ms Stuart’s report. “This will be followed by a full multi-disciplinary review of all complex cases.”

The efforts to ensure the safety of vulnerable individuals include the development of detailed local procedures on action to be taken when dealing with alleged abuse.

According to the report: “Training in the guidelines is ongoing and is mandatory for all community care staff – some 1,174 staff have attended these sessions to date.”

Yesterday’s meeting was told that Mr Bates would scrutinise the steps being taken to ensure that they were adequate and appropriate.

Frontline staff were being monitored, supported, trained and supervised. That was said to be crucial because they were making important decisions every day about vulnerable people living in the Borders area.