Decision details

Cabinet considered the report and RESOLVED to:

1.     Endorse the strategic proposals relating to the provision of services for children and young people, namely:

a)    The approach taken to the recruitment and retention of social workers, team managers, conference chairs and reviewing officers;

b)    Reviewing management of referrals into the service, the role of the local authority designated officer and the audit function;

c)    Creating a more sustainable social work service in the longer term through multi-disciplinary teams;

d)    The strategic approach to tackling neglect; and

e)    Implementing new technological approaches to assist business transformation.

2.    Agree that a further financial analysis is completed of these proposals to enable full consideration of the financial implications arising, with a report presented back to Cabinet in due course.

The current model of delivery was too heavily dependent on high cost social workers, of which there was a national shortage. The Council needed to take more assertive action to recruit and retain the best available social workers by improving its recruitment and retention offer.

The alternative option of doing nothing was considered, however this may have resulted in the continued current pattern of increasing numbers of children and young people being referred into statutory children’s services before sufficient support had been given to families to address their difficulties through the Council’s wide range of early help Services.

This continuing increase in referrals would result in increasing caseloads for our social workers, resulting in a poorer service to children and young people who are in need of protection and a likely increase in staff turnover. This would result in ever increasing agency social workers costs, and the likelihood that a Cabinet report would follow, requesting that the Council increase the establishment of social workers further to deal with the increased pressures within the service.