A LEADING opposition councillor has accused social services of 'slapping him down' and dismissing his concerns about a series of sensitive cases involving children.

Cllr Wayne Strutton, deputy leader of the Conservative group, said he has been frustrated on numerous occasions by council officers' attitudes when he has tried to bring casework to their attention.

He said: "I have always found there is this attitude that I have no right to question their decisions. People that aren't them don't have a right to be heard.

"When I do bring things up that are of importance, I get slapped down by the professionals for getting into their area. Apparently people like us aren't allowed to have an opinion, and you get a lot of that within the social services." A Slough Borough Council spokeswoman said: "Considering the job they do and the amount of confidential information they deal with, we think it is expected that social workers may be reticent around people outside their area of work."