Social worker shortage 'a crisis'

Baby P died after suffering months of abuse

One in seven social worker posts across England is unfilled as a "real crisis" grips the profession, the Tories say.

Their figures suggest at least a third of posts are unfilled at seven councils including Haringey, which was strongly criticised over the death of Baby P.

Tory spokesman Tim Loughton called for a new post of "chief social worker" and a huge recruitment and PR campaign.

In December ministers announced a task force to review leadership, supervision and training of social workers.

The Conservatives will use their "opposition day" debate in the Commons later to discuss the "unacceptably high" levels of child abuse and deaths at the hands of carers and parents.

'Easily panned'

Mr Loughton told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there could be more cases like that of Baby P - who died aged 17 months after sustained abuse - if the shortage was not addressed.

He said a new post of chief social worker should be created to speak up for the profession, high-performing social workers should be encouraged to take on the most challenging areas and bureaucracy should be reduced.

We need to improve the image and status and standing of social workers. They should be seen in just the same way as we view doctors, teachers, nurses or police. Tim LoughtonConservatives

The problem had been getting worse but it took tragedies like the Baby P case to flag up the fact there was a "real crisis" in the profession, he said.

"I am afraid social workers are very easily panned in the media but really if we are to be serious about child protection, then social workers need to be seen as part of the solution," he told the BBC.

"The vast majority of social workers actually do a good job and the vast majority of children in the care of local authorities don't end up like Baby P.

"We need to improve the image and status and standing of social workers. They should be seen in just the same way as we view doctors, teachers, nurses or police. We need a massive recruitment and PR campaign."

Danish approach

The Conservatives' figures, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, suggest that across England the national vacancy rate is 14.6%, up from 11% since 2005.

The authorities with the highest number of vacancies, as of November 2008, are Hackney and Islington in north London - which have 41.5% and 41.4% vacancies respectively.

Sandwell, in the West Midlands, had a 39.9% vacancy rate while Birmingham City council had 34.5% and Manchester City had 34.3%.

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Haringey in north London, where Baby P died despite being on the child protection register, had a 33.8% vacancy rate.

Unison, which represents 300,000 social care workers including 40,000 social workers, said it had already warned that the shortage of social workers was a "ticking time bomb" and called on councils to take urgent action.

General secretary Dave Prentis said: "It's a bit rich for the Tories to start whingeing about the crisis in recruiting and retaining social workers when they run most councils.

"The answer to the problem lies in their hands. They could start by sorting out local government pay - still outstanding from April last year - and pulling local government staff off the bottom of the public sector pay league."

Children's Secretary Ed Balls announced a "nuts and bolts" review of social service departments across England in December - including a new task force to improve the quality and status of social workers.

Meanwhile Essex County Council is trialling an approach used in Denmark to look after children in care. Social pedagogy involves highly qualified social workers who looks after each one throughout childhood.

And Labour MP Barry Sheerman told the BBC the children, schools and families committee which he chairs was in the process of writing up an eight-month inquiry into children in care.

He said many committee members felt "something quite dramatic" needed to be done about the "ethos" of social work.

He said social workers "often get vilified" adding: "If you were in any other business you would fundamentally change and rebrand what we do in social work, you would make these fundamental changes."

But he warned the Danish approach had to be well funded, use highly trained and well-paid social workers.