Research indicates need for more social workers to implement Laming recommendations

Early research conducted on behalf of the Local Government Association by Loughborough University suggests that implementation of the Laming recommendations, made in the wake of the Baby Peter case, will require an additional 6,300 social workers.

The Local Government Association commissioned the research against the background of the efforts being made by local authorities to strengthen their child protection systems.

Lord Laming recommended that any referral from another professional, such as a police officer or health worker, should result in social services carrying out an initial assessment. Initial findings from the research have found that, in a worst case scenario, this requirement could lead to a 300% increase in the number of such assessments some social work teams have to do.

The steep rise, which the LGA says is not practically possible at current staffing levels, could mean that an estimated 6,300 extra social workers were needed if it was replicated across the country, at a cost of nearly £250 million annually. This is based on each initial assessment taking on average 10 and a half hours to complete.

The LGA says that the final Loughborough University report will be used to formulate proposals for how local government can work with Lord Laming’s recommendations, with the ultimate aim of making child protection systems as good as they can possibly be.

The Association of Directors of Children’s Services has responded to the initial report by saying that managers had been concerned about the consequences of the recommendation when first made by Lord Laming in January 2009, and that the LGA had made an important contribution to the debate surrounding social work by counting the costs of implementation. Worries that the recommendation is both unaffordable and will not help protect children have been heightened by:

    * The lack of information about the funding of the 10 year reform programme for social work announced in December 2009, which recommended increased training and supervision for frontline social workers and their immediate managers;
    * Figures showing that children’s social workers are the hardest staff group to recruit and retain for the majority of local authorities;
    * Rising numbers of referrals, child protection plans and care proceedings following the Baby Peter case, placing additional pressure on departmental budgets and putting at risk non?statutory services that can prevent crises.