Council to offer homes to social workers as part of £6m recruitment drive
Joe Lepper
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Social workers could be offered their own home if they agree to work for Somerset County Council, under plans being considered by the authority as it attempts to recruit 100 new members of staff.
Somerset's director of children's services Julian Wooster told CYP Now that offering new social workers a house to rent is one of a number of "creative packages" that could be used to attract staff.
“We are looking more creatively about securing housing for those wanting to move into Somerset and offering a complete package of support to move their families into the area," he said.
“That would be certainly financial support and we are exploring options around housing support.
“There are a number of housing developments in Somerset so there are good opportunities for us to support them through our partnerships with our social housing partners in district councils.”
The news that Somerset is considering offering housing stock to social workers comes a day after the authority announced it is investing heavily in children's services.
The council, which is embarking on an improvement plan after its children's services department was rated "inadequate" by Ofsted for the second time in two years in March, wants to double the current number of social workers from 100 to 200, as well as investing in early help services.
In total, it has set aside £6m over the next three years.
Wooster said the extra staff would help reduce social worker caseloads from "25 plus" to 14.
However local authorities are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain staff.
Most recent figures, published in February, show that there are currently around 4,320 vacant full-time children’s social worker posts across English councils.
The authority already offers an £8,000 recruitment package.
Wooster said it is hoped that further enhancements to the package – such as social housing placements – could be included within six months.
In addition to this, bespoke financial support around transport costs for those commuting to the area are also under consideration.
Another strategy under consideration is offering financial incentives and housing packages to encourage agency workers to become permanent staff members.
Annie Hudson, chief executive of The College of Social Work, said housing is a big issue in recruitment, particularly in areas of high-cost housing.
“When a social worker decides to relocate they are not just thinking of themselves, they have their family as well as schools for their children to consider,” she said.
She added that councils can often end up “caught in a vicious circle” of recruitment and retention when they receive an “inadequate” rating from Ofsted.
“Morale drops, staff leave, and councils can find themselves having to rely more on temporary staff,” she said.
The Department for Education has said it will consider government intervention at the authority if improvements are not made.
A report on progress, being put together by government-appointed advisers from Essex County Council, is due to be completed by the end of next month.
In a letter to Somerset Council leader John Osman in March, children's minister Edward Timpson said the report will be used as the basis of a decision for “whether alternative delivery arrangements are necessary for children’s services in Somerset to improve”.
