Alarm over Aberdeen City Council social work staff figures

A local authority social work department which was heavily criticised in two government inspection reports has got rid of almost four out of 10 members of staff in the last two years.

New figures released under freedom of information legislation show that Aberdeen City Council has axed 726 social work posts since summer 2007 — 38.5% of the department’s workforce.

The cuts were made despite the council having been ordered by government inspectors last year to address major failings in its social work and child protection services.

In total, the council had 2,195 fewer staff in June, compared with the same month in 2007 — a reduction of some 18%. It means almost a quarter of its once 11,665-strong workforce will have gone if plans for 600 job losses are implemented next month.

Opposition Labour group leader Barney Crockett said: “The big challenge for this city is whether it can offer the services people in a modern city expect. If people see that services just aren’t going to be able to meet the demands then ordinary working families will move to Aberdeenshire to get better services.

“We face a potential crisis in the city with that, and these figures give us no grounds for contentment.”

In May last year it was revealed that the Social Work Inspection Agency (Swia) had issued a damning verdict on the department in Aberdeen. It made 23 recommendations for change. Then, last November, an HM Inspectorate of Education report into child protection services found 10 out of 18 categories to be weak, four unsatisfactory and only four satisfactory.

“How can we improve our service when we’re cutting more than a third of staff?” asked opposition Conservative group secretary Alan Donnelly. “It’s a department that can’t afford to lose that amount of staff.”

The figures also show that 85 teaching jobs have been lost, while there has been a 24% cut in the number of non-teaching staff — equating to 592 posts.

Grant Bruce, Aberdeen secretary of the EIS teaching union, said: “I am pleased to note that the figures confirm what the EIS has been saying all along, and the message I’m getting from schools is that there’s very little meat left on the bones to cut.”

Aberdeen City Council leader John Stewart said it was no surprise that Scotland’s lowest-funded council should have a reducing workforce. He said: “We have always made it clear that we would have to try and do more with less because of the funding situation we find ourselves in and the wider economic situation.”

A council spokesman said: “These figures are totals for all types of staff —this includes casual staff held on a relief pool list which was significantly reduced following a review and restructure of the social work service. Staff also left through voluntary severance and early retirement.

“Positive steps have been made to address the Swia recommendations, which were recognised in July.”