More than £7 million has been pumped into children’s services in Bromley since a damning report from the government’s watchdog into their performance.

Bromley Council has invested an extra £7.25m into the children, education and families budget after a heavily critical 2016 Ofsted report.

Bromley’s children’s services and safeguarding was labelled “inadequate” in all areas by inspectors, who said the service had “widespread and serious” failures that leave children vulnerable, as well as a “corporate failure by the local authority that leaves too many children in neglectful and abusive situations for too long”.

However, the service has rapidly improved since the 2016 report, with inspectors consistently praising the department in follow-up visits, and a much better rating is expected at the next full inspection.

At a full council meeting on Monday night (July 16), Cllr Peter Fortune, cabinet member for children and families, was quizzed on whether the extra cash and the improved performance meant the original budget had been cut too thin.

Cllr Fortune said: “One of the findings in the original report was that the money spent on children’s services wasn’t a driving issue. It was around management at that stage.

“The process since that damning Ofsted report – which we’ve always accepted and committed to improving, but not just fixing it but changing the way we provide services – has been making sure that management structure and the systems are improved.

“If you look at when Ofsted come in, and we’ve had seven visits and numerous visits from the Department of Education, they’ve all looked at systems and process. They’ve looked at what we have done well, such as bringing agency staff in full time, and our work around gangs etc.

“They haven’t said cash into that service is an issue, and our focus is getting the service right. That’s the advice we’ve given other authorities – getting it right and making sure children are at the heart of everything we do.”

The latest monitoring visit by the watchdog was last month, praising council leadership and partners for their work with vulnerable teenagers at risk of exploitation and gangs.

A full inspection is expected in the autumn.