CYP Now - Working in London: Interview - Isobel Cattermole, head of strategicand operational services, Tower Hamlets

"We've had a massive campaign in the last six years, principally because we knew that unless we grew we would have the same problems as every other London borough." Isobel Cattermole, service head for strategic and operational services in the education directorate at the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, is frank about the recruitment issues facing the council.

She cites the cost of housing in the inner London borough as onebarrier, along with people's reluctance to live elsewhere and commute."Tower Hamlets is a diverse and exciting place to be," she says, "butlike any London borough it's costly to live here. People find difficultywith housing, and when people get married and start families they moveout because they need more space."

Aside from housing issues, the east London borough is beset bypoverty.

It is the fourth most deprived place in England, according to theGovernment's indices of deprivation. However, when it comes to therecruitment of children's services staff something of a transformationhas occurred over the last few years; vacancy rates are down, turnoveris down, and recruitment from the local community is up.

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