Social work department needs ‘specialist external expertise’

Social work bosses struggling with a runaway budget have admitted they can’t get it under control. Yesterday councillors were being asked to give the go-ahead for consultants to be brought in to help.

At the same time, members were warned the battle to bring spending under control will be an expensive affair and social work boss John Alexander described the whole exercise as a “substantial” challenge.

Mr Alexander, pictured, outlined measures being put in place to try to cap the risk of overspending.

The move was sparked last month when the social work services committee was told budget monitoring predicted a £537,000 budget burst at the end of the year.

Social services is always hardpressed to balance the books as it struggles to help vulnerable people, many living at home. With 700 staff and an annual budget of £75 million, it is the second largest service operated by the council. Mr Alexander stressed budget control measures should be seen in the wider context of the department’s three-year business plan.

He told the committee in a report: “Social work is facing a period of rapid change, including demographic trends, shifting public expectations and a range of legislative and policy developments in various fields likely to have a significant impact on how we do our business.

“Among the key drivers of change are planned legislation on health and social care integration, children and young people and self-directed support.

“In addition, welfare reform is anticipated to have a major impact on how social work resources are deployed and utilised in the coming period.”

Pointing out the projected budget burst had dropped by £30,000, Mr Alexander said a special risk enablement and management group had been set up to oversee the introduction of a range of measures which include short-term cost reductions, avoiding future overspends, cutting costs, reviewing budget controls and prioritising resources while protecting front-line services.

Mr Alexander concluded: “The scale of the challenge that is facing the social work service is substantial and will require to be adequately resourced to achieve success.

“While the service will be able to access resources from within the council, it is anticipated that some additional resources will also be required from outwith our council in order to deliver the planned outcomes, including specialist external expertise.”