£448,000 temporary work squad

On Monday night the council’s cabinet approved £448,707 to bring in a temporary team of experienced social workers for six months.

On a salary of £35,000 per year, that would equate to at least 24 workers.

Clr Erin Hill, Cabinet member for family support and child protection, said they had identified a need for a “short, sharp intervention” to support the council’s permanent staff to make the changes needed.

Clr Hill said there was a national problem with recruiting and retaining social workers.

She said: “It’s quite simple; social workers were overworked and that obviously has an effect on what they’re able to do.

“There’s a national problem with recruitment and retention of social workers.

“We want to focus on how we can support our staff to stay with us.”

A £2,000 “golden hello” is currently being offered for some social work roles.

Clr Hill confirmed the DfE’s troubleshooter, Mrs Brazil, would be meeting key council staff next week, where arrangements for the next steps would be agreed.

Mrs Brazil, who will be the Children’s Commissioner for Kirklees, will not be running the department on a day-today basis but will report back to the DfE on whether she believes Kirklees is capable of turning its failing department around.

It has been revealed she has the power to recommend children’s social work should be outsourced.

Clr Hill said she was hopeful that it wouldn’t come to that. She said regulator Ofsted’s “Inadequate” rating was not its view of staff but of the systems and processes used to look after children. She said: “We’re in a good position to prove that we do have the capacity to improve. “We should not underestimate the scale of the challenge. It’s a big transformation. It’s a case of years, not months.” The cost of turning the department round will depend on the commissioner’s ruling. Kirklees says it only has a total of £2.9m spare cash for the entire authority this financial year. It has agreed to prioritise children’s services for any money needed.

There’s a national problem with recruitment and retention of social workers