§ Lord Northbourneasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they accept the findings of the recently published joint chief inspector's report on arrangements to safeguard children that "many services [are] under pressure and experiencing major difficulties in recruiting and retaining key skilled and experienced staff" (paragraph 1.15); and "that failures to provide an adequate response by social services departments are often due to staff shortages within children's teams in social services" (paragraph 1.19); and, if so, what action they propose to take. [HL659]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath)The Government are aware, more recently from the joint chief inspectors' reportSafeguarding Children, that many areas are experiencing problems in relation to recruitment and retention of social workers. The Government accept that they have responsibilities to work alongside local authorities and other employers. That is why we have invested £1.5 million in a national recruitment campaign, which has been running since October 2001. It is also why we are introducing a specific grant of £9 million in 2003–04 to local councils to help them deal with the linked problems of recruitment and retention. In addition, a new three-year social work degree will be introduced in September 2003.
The recommendations of the joint chief inspectors' report Safeguarding Children, including that relating to the recruitment and retention of sufficient levels of appropriately qualified staff, are currently being carefully considered across government.