They were apprehended following the rape and torture of a woman with learning disabilities – known as Miss X – and long after these sadists were jailed, criticism rained down on the local authority’s social services professionals over the neglect of their long-term client.

The negative publicity which flowed from a series of independent reports peaked in May 2004, when the erstwhile Social Work Services Inspectorate (SWSI) published a damning appraisal which found a massive level of failure in both social and health services.

The then social work minister Peter Peacock told a hushed Scottish Parliament that the results of the investigation were a “life-changing experience” for him.

It revealed that concerns about Miss X, along with three other victims connected to her, had first come to the attention of social workers in the Borders up to 30 years earlier. Two of the others had suffered serious sexual abuse while the third had been physically neglected.

But what case notes were discovered were so bad – often handwritten, undated, brief and anonynous – that it was not possible to trace definitively which social workers and managers were involved at any stage.

In 2003, director of social work Colin Johnson left the council with an undisclosed pay-off package. Other senior members of the department also went, pensions intact, amid rumours of bullying and low morale among the social work foot soldiers.

SBC accepted the findings of the report and apologised for repeated failings in relation to the case, but concluded there was insufficient evidence to justify disciplinary action against individuals.

There have been huge management and structural changes in the intervening years, and last week, the department received a welcome boost with a glowing report from the Social Work Inspection Agency (SWIA).

The inspection took place between April and September last year. In the course of those five months, inspectors conducted a root and branch review of all social work functions and services. It included 120 meetings and interviews, involving user groups, partner organisations and staff, and questionnaires to around 500 clients.