Following the release of the star ratings for social services the children's charity Barnardo's claims the ratings are a useful tool only when they inform choice.

But people living in the most deprived communities, such as those within which Barnardo's works have little mobility and no real choice as to which social services department they use.

These ratings will be really useful if they generate increased funding to these communities. They should inform the way government allocates resources as much as local government action plans.

The inspection reports on which these ratings are based do need to inform improvement. Barnardo's is not sure that naming and shaming does that. Nor is it helpful for the morale of staff in already beleaguered social services departments; nor will it enable recruitment and retention of staff in those communities.

Barnardo's director of policy and research Nigel Bennett said: "Local authorities scoring zero have to produce action plans - and this is welcome - but Barnardo's believes that better funding must be directed towards social services departments learning from one another, creating better mechanisms to share best practice between themselves, and between the statutory and the voluntary sector."