Oldham Labour will use Wednesday’s Council Meeting to urge national government to take action to reduce the need to rely on expensive and short-term agency social workers. This will include calling on the government to provide funds to set up not for profit staff banks to help cover shifts, a recommendation from the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care which was published in May 2022.

This builds on proposals from Oldham Labour, which are part of a £14.7 million plan to protect children and young people in the borough, including;

• Recruiting an additional 50 permanent social care workers, and 17 support staff to enable social workers to focus on spending time with children and their families;
• Improving terms and conditions to increase retention of social workers, allowing trust to be built between children and young people and their social workers;
• Investing in a residential care home for children and young people with disabilities, to reduce reliance on out of area care;
• Creating move-on accommodation options for over 18 year olds in Oldham to better prepare young people who have been in care to live well independently;
• Increasing allowances for foster families and increasing our fostering team.

Other measures include new activities to support families, social workers, and ensure referrals are dealt with more quickly.

Despite increasing concerns about the future of Social Care, the government has yet to respond to the Independent Review, which also recommended requiring newly qualified social workers to have completed two years of the proposed early career framework.

The shortage of social workers is a national problem that requires national solutions. Across England, gaps in the number of social workers are filled by social work agencies who supply staff to councils for profit.  Oldham’s Labour Council is investing in making Oldham an attractive place to be a social worker and working with other Greater Manchester Councils to limit private businesses’ profiteering, but says the government needs to do more.

Councillor Eddie Moores, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services said ‘The children and young people who need support from a social worker say they want someone who can get to know them and who they can rely on long term. We are making a renewed effort by investing in Children’s Services to recruit, retain and train the best social workers available and make Oldham their first choice. Our Director of Children’s Services will work with colleagues across Greater Manchester, and potentially the North West, to find ways to reduce using agency social workers.’

Councillor Amanda Chadderton, Leader of the Council added ‘We are calling on central Government to help by asking them to follow in Northern Ireland’s footsteps and impose a ban or a quota on Agency Social Workers. We also think Government should publish its response to the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care as soon as possible and further regulate agency social work as recommended. As a longer-term solution, we need a fund for local authorities to set up not-for-profit staff banks to be the first port of call for temporary workers. ‘