SWINDON'S beleaguered social services department will be take first steps to recovery on Wednesday.

In November the department was named and shamed as one of the worst in the country by Government inspectors, given a zero-rating for the second consecutive year.

Last month inspectors visited to deliver a verdict on the way the elderly are cared for, and while the council did not pass with flying colours it did not fail. Government inspectors will soon be in Swindon to test the council's child protection.

If the council is to avoid having social services taken from it by the government and placed in the hands of outside management as happened with education in 2002 when Tribal were appointed after a disastrous LEA Ofsted report then the road to recovery has to be straight and fast.

Council leader Mike Bawden (Con, Old Town and Lawn) said: "Failure isn't an option. We have to get it right now. There is no valid reason left for not delivering a first-class service."

Coun Bawden knows that, after almost a year in power, his Conservative administration cannot blame the previous rulers much longer for the mess.

Wednesday's cabinet meeting will start the road to recovery by discussing the council's improvement plan for the year. In short, it aims to step up the "pace and scope" of improvements.

Coun Ian Dobie (Con, Haydon Wick), lead member for social services, said: "It's going to be touch and go. I really wouldn't like to bet on it. My heart is firmly on the side of success. My head is less sure."

One of the most disturbing features of the report by the all-powerful Social Services Inspectorate (South West) into Swindon Council's care of the elderly was the poor relationship between councillors and senior officers. No less an indictment was the highlighting of "difficult inter-party behaviour". Translated, this means that opposition councillors were delighting in trying to sabotage any recovery simply to score party political points. Corporate performance and leadership was branded poor, but councillors were panned for failing to lead by example.

There were also revelations of a breakdown between social services and Swindon Primary Care Trust, poor communication and a lack of mutual understanding.

Not everything was bleak. Progress on identifying and protecting vulnerable adults had been good and served as an example of different organisations working together.

Swindon provided some good services for older people and a reasonable range in some areas, and the inspectors said feedback from older people and carers was largely positive.

Michael Litchfield