Agenda item

·         To consider and accept the report

·         To support the intentions of the service

·         To recognise the work of exploring these matters that has already began

The report was accepted and support was expressed to the intention of the Children and Supporting Families Department to place focus on the four main matters noted in the report as a response to the staffing situation, whilst acknowledging that some of the work has already commenced

The report was submitted by the Head of Children and Supporting Families department noting the following main points.

It was confirmed that the report was an update to what had been submitted to the Cabinet in November 2022 on matters that affect the Children's Service in relation to attracting, recruiting and retaining professional staff. It was explained that the Service had faced difficulties in this field during the 2020/21 year, following the Covid-19 pandemic and that the staff had decided to leave and get other jobs, or leave the profession all together. It was emphasised that the situation had improved by now and that there were no current vacant posts within the service.

It was stated that there were four fields to take action on in order to respond to the challenges that appeared in the service, namely:

·       Salaries

·       Attracting and retaining staff

·       Investing in new workers

·       Developing staff welfare

It was explained that salaries was the main matter that was affecting attracting and retaining staff. As a result of this, it was seen that staff were leaving to work for other authorities in order to take advantage of flexible working terms. It was noted that many jobs were being advertised numerous times before appointing staff, and that the salary scale often needed amending before attracting applicants.

It was mentioned that the Department was trying to identify talent within the present workforce and provide opportunities for individuals to gain qualifications to develop their careers. It was noted that the staff that received that support stayed to work with the department for a long time. Also, it was confirmed that this assisted the Department to ensure that the staff were bilingual.

It was pleasing that the Department was now attracting applicants when advertising jobs.  An example was shared of Autism related Jobs advertised recently where there were 20 applications for 4 posts.

It was explained that the Department was trying to avoid using agency staff where possible. It was noted that difficulties could arise when trying to use the agency as only one week of notice needed to be given before they finished working for the Department. In addition, it was noted that most of the agency staff were non-Welsh speaking and that their salaries were around 40-70% higher than the usual rate. Despite this, it was confirmed that a maximum had now been set on agency staff salaries. It was confirmed that no agency staff had worked for the Department for around 7 years as a result of their success filling posts.

It was noted that the department was eager to continue to provide encouragement and to give urgent attention to important matters when inspiring and leading. It was explained that there were three possible strategic options to follow, namely:

1.     Continue in the same direction and maintain the status quo.

2.     Choose a transformational, ambitious method.

3.     Choose a proactive approach towards continuous improvement.

It was confirmed that the Department favoured the third option above as it was an achievable option to resolve the Department’s challenges. It was confirmed that they needed the support of the Council to implement this option in the future as the number of applications that reached the Department had increased significantly over the past few years. It was explained that there were 7175 applications in the 2022/23 financial year compared to 2500 in the 2019/20 financial year.

In response to the observations and questions from members, it was confirmed that the Salaries Working group had considered a number of options for the future including offering qualifications for individuals in the middle of their careers.

The department and the social workers were thanked for their continuous work.

RESOLVED:

The report was accepted and support was expressed to the intention of the Children and Supporting Families to place focus on the four main matters noted in the report as a response to the staffing situation, whilst acknowledging that some of the work had already commenced.