Social worker shortage in Blaenau Gwent

CALLS have been made to increase social worker salaries in Blaenau Gwent by £1,000 per year to match those of neighbouring councils and retain staff.

It was revealed at a meeting of Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s Social Services scrutiny committee on Thursday, January 20, that the authority’s Children’s Social Services department is in the midst of a staff shortage crisis.

The council’s head of children’s social services, Tanya Evans explained that at the end of November they had a 41 percent vacancy rate for qualified social workers.

Ms. Evans: “That hasn’t changed we still have that level today across the four teams.”

“That is significant as you can imagine.”

Ms. Evans explained that absence rates due to sickness and staff on maternity leave are on top of that 41 percent.

It means the department is working at half strength, which Ms Evans said put the remaining workforce under “significant pressure.”

Tanya Evans said that the lack of social workers is a “national issue” with a drop in the number of students applying to study social work at university.

To combat this, Ms. Evans said that Blaenau Gwent was working on a two-year action plan.

The first part of this is to try to manage the current workload.

And the second is, as Ms. Evans put it, “growing our own” social workers.

Ms. Evans explained that a number of support workers were now following three-year degree courses to qualify as social workers.

She added that they were also thinking of recruiting social workers from overseas.

Cllr Phil Edwards noted that staff pay rates are £1,000 lower than both Monmouthshire and Newport councils.

Cllr Edwards said:

“You don’t want a turf war where people are back and forth working for different councils,

“We need to recognise the job they are doing.

“I don’t want them to think they can get an extra £1,000 by just going over the border, no need to move house or anything and possibly travel even less.”

He wondered if matching the other council’s wages would “encourage” staff to stay and show they are “respected.”

But Tanya Evans said she was concerned matching the wages could see others increase theirs and eventually spiral into a bidding “turf war” for the staff they would all want to avoid.

Ms Evans added: “It does the children and families no good to have social workers hopping from one authority to another and breaking those relationships with the families they have been working with.”

The council’s director of social services, Damien McCann said:

“It needs a national solution and a national pay scale for social workers.”

“We have been working with the colleges and universities across Gwent, to develop opportunities for placements to give students a flavour of what it’s like to work in those environments.”

He added that some would be offered paid shifts as part of the effort to attract them to the sector.