There is still “a lot of work to be done” to establish good children’s services in Bucks, according to government commissioner, John Coughlan.

He also showed support for plans to create a “super council” in the county – as a bigger authority will be more effective in improving the service than two smaller councils.

Last week it was announced the county’s failing children’s services will remain under Bucks County Council (BCC) following a three-month government review.

In his report to the secretary of state Mr Coughlan, who is also chief executive of Hampshire County Council, recognised BCC is working to improve the struggling service.

However he added “there is still a huge amount of work to be done to establish and normalise good social work and childcare practice sustainability across the organisation”.

Mr Coughlan said it will likely take three years for major improvements to be made, making clear “there are no shortcuts” and it will take “very hard work and a relentless approach”.

He also addressed current issues within the service – stating that while there are “some good strengths” within Early Help, the service needs to be better co-ordinated with children’s social care.

He said: “There are some good strengths within the service itself, but the typical “border-control” issues that apply to most early help systems seem especially marked in Bucks.

“There is work to be done on thresholds and the criteria for cases to be stepped up and down and in and out of the service.”

Mr Coughlan added the move to merge the “high pressured” Child in Need and Child Protection teams was “entirely sensible” as they were previously “unable to prioritise work effectively”.

However he said the merger will require time to implement.

Mr Coughlan also shared his views the pending council shake-up in Bucks - stating that plans to create a “super authority” in the county would be better for the children’s services.

He contradicted district leaders’ view that “biggest is not always best” – stating that “size matters” when it comes to delivering children’s services.

His report stated that while there is no direct correlation in size and performance of the services, they are more effective and sustainable at a larger scale.

He added: “It is increasingly the case for various reasons that children’s services can be made to be more effective, stable and sustainable at larger rather than smaller scale; it is also clear that when authorities do fail at children’s services.

“Finally, it is fair to say, entirely respectfully, that with the best of will district councils have no direct experience of running children’s services and necessarily have highly limited concepts of the scale and challenges involved.”

However he made clear that any re-organisation of local government should not slow down any improvement made to children’s services.

Mr Coughlan praised the new “highly impressive” leadership team within BCC’s children’s services and believes they are capable of transforming performance.

He said: “Because of the apparent strengths of the new leadership team, it is entirely conceivable that Buckinghamshire can pursue the new improvement journey without external support.”