Devon County Council’s £1.7m bill for temporary staff

A MAJOR shortage of social workers in Devon has led to a huge increase in the cost of employing temporary staff. Experts are concerned services could be affected if the situation continues.

The Echo can reveal the cost of employing temporary staff at Devon County Council has soared more than 1,000 per cent in three years.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show almost £1.75 million was spent paying temporary staff and agency fees last year.

It represents a ten-fold increase in three years and has been described as “astonishing” by the Taxpayers’ Alliance.

Union leaders have also labelled it a “real cause for concern”.

Money paid in agency staffing was £155,000 in 2007/8 and rose to £724,000 in 2008/9. But during the last financial year it reached £1,747,500. The number of different agencies used has also leapt from seven to 26 in the same three-year period.

The county council said the rise was a direct result of the expense of hiring temporary social workers because of a national shortage.

It said it cannot reveal how many social worker vacancies are open — but it is actively recruiting for a number of posts in children’s services.

Joe Godden, development officer for the British Association of Social Workers, said: “It isn’t generally good to have too many temporary staff — it creates a lack of continuity for the people that use the services, particularly children and families.

“Agency workers offer experience, high quality and can hit the ground running. But the concern is the temporary nature, the turnover of staff and lack of continuity.”

He said high-profile cases like that of Baby P had increased pressure on social workers. And at a time when referrals are increasing more and more staff are turning away from the job.

Mr Godden said it was more expensive for authorities to employ agency social workers because they are paid a higher hourly rate and the agency also takes a cut.

He said: “One positive thing is Devon County Council is realising it needs to provide social workers because there are a large number of vulnerable children and families who need help. It isn’t wasted money — but it’s money it could spend in other ways if there weren’t so many agency staff.”

Paul Raybould, a spokesman for the Devon TUC, said: “Taking into account the council has already announced a job freeze and job losses and has to save millions across the board from its budget, this is a real concern.

“The shortage of social workers is worrying — if it is not able to recruit them the pay must be too low for staff to want the responsibilities it takes to undertake the demanding role.”

A spokesman for the Taxpayers’ Alliance said: “This astonishing increase is costing taxpayers a fortune at a time when they can least afford it. The bill for these staff will be diverting money away from frontline services and denying taxpayers value for money.

“These are the sorts of costs that have badly damaged the finances of local government and it’s important this council reassesses the situation with a view to making savings.”

A county council spokesman said: “We’re in the process of a recruitment campaign at the moment for qualified professional social workers.

“All local authorities, including Devon, are experiencing increased demand for services, which require more experienced social workers.

“The numbers of casual workers and agency staff used by Devon County Council represents less than 0.1 per cent of the number of staff we employ.

“The main reason for the increase in agency staff is because of the national shortage of professional social workers and the need to make sure that vulnerable people in Devon get the vital care they require.

“To keep our costs down, we are establishing our own social work bank to reduce our reliance on, and cost of, external agency social workers.”