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Issue - meetings

Meeting: 13/04/2022 - Cabinet (Item 151)

151 Workforce Stability: Attracting Agency Children's Social Workers to Devon - Agency Pay Rate Proposals pdf icon PDF 231 KB

Report from Head of Childrens Social Work (CS/22/06) relating to Workforce Stability and proposals for attracting agency children's social workers via agency pay rate proposals, attached.

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED that up to an additional £1.4 million to be funded from reserves, to strengthen the recruitment and retention of agency social workers, as set out in the Report, be approved.

Minutes:

(Councillors Dewhirst, Hannaford and Whitton attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item).

 

The Cabinet considered the Report from Head of Children’s Social Work (CS/22/06) relating to Workforce Stability and proposals for attracting agency children's social workers via agency pay rate proposals, circulated prior to the meeting in accordance with regulation 7(4) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.

 

Cabinet noted there had been challenges in recruiting and retaining the best workforce and that there were 44 social work immediate vacancies across social work services.

 

The proposal to increase the agency social worker pay rate was to stabilise the workforce and reduce the high turnover until the Council could improve the workload and stability of the permanent workforce. Ofsted had also commented that whilst senior leaders understood the recruitment and retention priority, the situation had yet to improve as well as on the workloads of the current workforce.

 

In order to reflect current market forces, there was an urgent need to be more competitive and financially attractive in the agency job marketplace and this could only be achieved in the short-term by increasing the agency worker pay rate, whilst the Council focussed on reshaping and transforming permanent recruitment and attraction activity in the external candidate marketplace.

 

The proposed increase in agency social worker pay rates would be as follows for all social work positions in hard to fill service areas, e.g. MASH, C&F, IRT, DCS and P&T:

 

      Up to an additional £4 per hour for Experienced Social Workers

      Up to an additional £2 per hour for Assistant Team Managers and Team Managers

 

To apply the proposed uplifted costs across all current agency staff within ‘hard to recruit teams’ would require investment of £785,347.

 

The Cabinet noted that the appointment of competent agency social workers for a minimum 6 month placement, would have a positive impact on children and families in our communities – specifically those who are in need or who require protection. It was also critical to ensure that Devon had sufficient high quality experienced social workers and managers to effectively work with children, young people and their families/carers, whilst keeping children and young people consistently safe and risk minimised.

 

The matter having been debated and the options and/or alternatives and other relevant factors (e.g. financial, sustainability (including carbon impact), risk management, equality and legal considerations and Public Health impact) set out in the Head of Service’s Report and/or referred to above having been considered:

 

it was MOVED by Councillor Leadbetter, SECONDED by Councillor Hart, and

 

RESOLVED that up to an additional £1.4 million to be funded from reserves, to strengthen the recruitment and retention of agency social workers, as set out in the Report, be approved.



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