A national shortage of social workers has been apparent for some time, with a 16 per cent rise in the number who left their post last year and vacancies reaching a five-year high.
Against this backdrop, the balance of power is in favour of the recruitment agencies, so it is unsurprising they often dictate to authorities the employment terms of their social workers including whether to supply a team of staff rather than individual practitioners to fill gaps.
With the cost of living crisis set to increase referrals to children’s services, demand for staff will only rise, resulting in councils having to spend even more on expensive agency teams. Such a scenario is unsustainable. Children’s services leaders are calling for an outright ban on social work agencies or regulation to limit their profits. Neither seems likely as both candidates to be the next Prime Minister appear keen to show off their free-market credentials.
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