Chief Social Work Officer Annual Report 2023-24
Perth and Kinross Council · 4 December 2024
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Perth and Kinross Council 4 December 2024 CHIEF SOCIAL WORK OFFICER ANNUAL REPORT 2023/24 Report by Chief Social Work Officer (Report No. 24/347) 1. PURPOSE 1.1 The Chief Social Work Officer (CSWO) Annual Report 2023/24 provides an overview of statutory social work duties delivered by social work and social care staff during the reporting period. The report focuses on key areas of progress across Children and Families social work, Adult social work, and Justice social work over the past year, providing assurance on key areas of public protection and frontline service delivery. 1.2 The report highlights the continued impact of the cost-of-living crisis on communities and service delivery, with significant inflationary pressures impacting both. The national social work and social care recruitment crisis also affected the delivery of frontline services, with positive evidence of workforce development initiatives, which commenced in 2022/23, beginning to take effect in 2023/24. 1.3 The report details the arrangements to enable the CSWO to fulfil the responsibilities outlined in Section 5 (1) of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 (as amended). The report was submitted to the Office of the Chief Social Work Advisor at the Scottish Government on 30 October 2024. 2. RECOMMENDATION 2.1 It is recommended that Council: • Takes assurance from the CSWO Annual Report 2023/24 that overall performance in delivering high quality services for people who use social work and social care services has remained positive despite challenges. 3. STRUCTURE OF REPORT 3.1 This report is structured over the following sections: • Section 4: Background • Section 5: Proposals • Section 6: Conclusion and assessment of performance. • Appendices
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4. BACKGROUND 4.1 The Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 (as amended), requires every local authority to appoint a single CSWO. 4.2 Scottish Government ministers published statutory guidance in 2016 on the role of the CSWO for local authorities and partnerships which have certain social work functions delegated to them. The CSWO role was established to ensure the provision of appropriate professional advice in the discharge of the full range of the local authority’s statutory functions and the updated guidance sets out the importance of the CSWO role within Integrated Joint Boards. 4.3 The CSWO is accountable to elected members of the local authority and must be: • A qualified social worker, registered with the Scottish Social Services Council; • Designated as a ‘proper officer’ of the local authority; • Of sufficient seniority and experience in both the operational and strategic management of social work services; and • A non-voting member of the integration authority. 4.4 The CSWO is a role and function, rather than a specific job description, and is therefore, distinct from the post holder’s operational management responsibilities and from the role of the chief officer of the integration authority. It is for the CSWO to use their authority to challenge and intervene when proposals may have a detrimental impact on vulnerable citizens or to the workforce on whom they depend. In leading the social care and social work profession, the CSWO provides: • Professional independent advice to the Chief Executive and elected members in relation to the discharge of the local authority’s statutory functions as outlined in the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 (as amended); • Strategic and professional leadership in the delivery of social work services; • Assistance to local authorities and their partners in understanding the complexities and cross-cutting nature of social work services and the key role they play in meeting local and national outcomes; and • Support for performance management and the management of corporate risk. 4.5 Together with the CSWO, elected members have duties to oversee effective, professional, and high-quality social work and social care services are delivered to professional standards. The CSWO Annual Report and its consideration by Perth and Kinross Council and the Perth and Kinross Integrated Joint Board is one important way to accomplish this. The CSWO Annual Report is an opportunity to gauge the quality of performance of social work and social care services and to identify the challenges for continuing to meet the needs of local people and communities into the future.
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The Office of the Chief Social Work Adviser (OCSWA) uses all 32 CSWO Annual Reports to produce a national summary report, and this provides an opportunity to set our local social care and social work services in the wider national context. 4.6 During 2023/24, the CSWO role was carried out by the Chief Officer for the Health and Social Care Partnership. The then Interim Head of Adult Social Work and the Head of Services for Children, Young People and Families (who has since retired) deputised and provided cover when required. 4.7 Perth and Kinross Council approved a new Executive and Strategic Leadership Structure in June 2023. The statutory role of the CSWO was aligned to the Strategic Lead for Children, Families and Justice. The new Strategic Lead took up post on 29 January 2024 and assumed the role of CSWO on 1 April 2024, following a transitionary period. 4.8 Throughout 2023/24, social work services in Perth and Kinross faced numerous challenges, including the continued impact of the cost-of-living crisis both on the communities in which we work and our workforce, adding to inflationary pressures on baseline social work budgets. 4.9 Statistical analysis shows that while referral numbers to our front door services are stabilising, these are against historical highs, therefore, demand remains at unprecedented levels. Despite these challenges, the commitment and dedication of the workforce have been evident in their efforts to support the most vulnerable and at risk citizens in the community. 4.10 The report highlights that the triaging of referrals across service areas remains highly effective, with no overall increase in children, young people and adults being subjected to statutory protection measures, evidencing thresholds continue to be consistently applied. 4.11 Outwith public protection referrals, Children and Families social work and Adult social work have built on effective screening to provide early signposting and intervention to prevent escalation of presenting issues. For example, the Multi-Agency Screening Hub (MASH) is diverting families away from statutory to voluntary support, and the Family Support Team (FST) has played a crucial role in providing early intervention and prevention support to families, reducing the need for formal child protection processes and crisis intervention. The Adult social work Access team has significantly reduced the length of time to screen referrals, with most now screened within 48 hours. The duration between contact and assessment reduced from 20 to 10 days. In addition, the Early Discharge Project (EDP) has enabled individuals to return home from hospital more quickly, promoting independence and reducing delays in hospital discharge. 4.12 The report highlights the work undertaken within our Justice social work services, who have continued to play a vital role in the rehabilitation and reintegration of individuals in conflict with the law.
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The Community Justice and Safety Service (CJSS) has progressed several initiatives, including Bail Supervision, Diversion from Prosecution (DfP), and the Structured Deferred Sentence Right Track Service (SDSRTS), to address the underlying causes of offending behaviour and promote public safety. In addition, the One-Stop Women’s Learning Service (OWLS) and the EVOLVE Project have provided gender-specific support to individuals, addressing their unique needs, and promoting positive life changes. The Caledonian Programme has continued to address domestic abuse perpetrated by men, ensuring that the rights and needs of victims are respected and met. 4.13 Our data shows our ‘looked after’ population of children and young people continues to reduce year on year. Whilst the largest decrease over the past year relates to children and young people in statutory kinship placements, our overall kinship placements remain stable. We are instead working with families much earlier and supporting voluntary kinship arrangements. The redesign of services, as noted, has pivoted to providing early intervention supports to children, young people and families, to keep them together. The reduction in our looked after population is indicating a success of our approach, however, this does not imply a reduction in overall workload. The report outlines that whilst families present with the same complexities, there is a shift in the legal basis in which we are working with children and young people, away from statutory legal orders to statutory voluntary support. 4.14 Notwithstanding a reduction in our looked after population, the Council provided additional non-recurring funding of £1.952k in March 2023 to offset budget pressures for looked after children and young people in residential placements during 2023/24. This was a consequence of young people with complex behavioural problems, post Covid, struggling to manage in the community and requiring specialist residential care. This was coupled with staffing recruitment challenges to the REACH team which was established to provide intensive support to prevent the need for residential care for young people in crisis, evidencing the importance of early intervention services to mitigate higher costs to the Council. 4.15 Our high demographic of older people in Perth and Kinross shows that whilst on the whole older people live healthy and independent lives for longer, when they do need support, it is due to multiple comorbidities (having two or more medical conditions at the same time) resulting in the need for complex care. Our Adult social work teams continue to promote personalisation and self- directed support, offering individuals choice in how their care is delivered. There are occasions when options are limited due to the availability of providers locally. Our support to unpaid carers has branched out to carers support workers working directly in the Specialist Community Outreach and Prevention Engagement (SCOPE) team and integrated Drug and Alcohol Recovery Team (iDART), providing early intervention and prevention support to carers.
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4.16 Workforce planning is having a positive impact, witnessed through: • The increase of social work student placements offered to universities; • Support to newly qualified social workers; • Targeted recruitment and development to support social workers undertake Mental Health Officer training; and • To promoting social care as a career choice. 5. PROPOSALS 5.1 The key challenges going forward are: • Reviewing workforce pressures and recruitment challenges across social work and social care to maintain service quality and ensuring the wellbeing of our staff; • The impact of financial pressures and cost of living crisis on both the communities we serve and the costs of delivering services (eg children’s residential placements, nursing home placements and care at home contracts etc), with inflationary increases impacting on baseline budgets; • The increasing costs of support packages for children and young people who have additional support needs in the community. Medical intervention is increasing life expectancy, which requires complex care packages to meet their growing needs. Current budgets are unlikely to meet this demand; • The growing need of care packages for all age and client groups supported by Adult social work. Increasing levels of complex needs due to physical and/or learning disabilities; and complex care needs associated with physical and mental frailty of our aging population is placing exceptional pressures on social work budgets; • Recruitment and retention of carers, with challenges in recruiting foster carers, adoptive parents, and supported lodging providers. With risks that the lack of family-based placements may result in the need to access external residential placements at significantly higher costs; • Increasing self-directed support choice for families and adults by tendering for third sector providers; • Engaging with the local Judiciary and providing information on how community sentences are managed, which provide opportunities for reparation and rehabilitation; • Learn from local and national learning reviews, promoting partnership working and a shared understanding and responsibility of public protection across statutory and non-statutory partners; and • Risks to the Children, Families and Justice social work budget for savings which may result in cuts to early intervention provision, resulting in higher costs to the Council in the short, medium and long term. 6. CONCLUSION AND ASSESSMENT OF PERFORMANCE 6.1 The report highlights the achievements and contributions of social work and social care staff in Perth and Kinross, emphasising their compassion, ambition, and integrity in supporting those most in need.
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6.2 It is the CSWO assessment, that despite the challenges faced during the reporting period, social work services in Perth and Kinross have demonstrated resilience, adaptability, and a commitment to continuous improvement. The collaborative efforts of various teams, services and partnership working have ensured that statutory social work duties are delivered effectively, providing assurance on key areas of public protection and frontline service delivery. 6.3 Looking ahead, addressing workforce pressures, financial constraints, and the recruitment and retention of carers will be crucial to maintaining and improving the quality of social work services. The continued focus on early intervention, prevention, and collaboration with partner agencies will be essential in meeting the evolving needs of communities and ensuring positive outcomes for individuals and families. Author Name Designation Contact Details Arun Singh Chief Social Work Officer FBSCommittee@pkc.gov.uk 01738 475000 Approved Name Designation Date Arun Singh Chief Social Work Officer 26 November 2024
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ANNEX 1. IMPLICATIONS, ASSESSMENTS, CONSULTATION AND COMMUNICATION Strategic Implications Yes/None Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement Yes Corporate Plan Yes Resource Implications Financial None Workforce None Asset Management (land, property, IST) None Assessments Equality Impact Assessment None Strategic Environmental Assessment None Sustainability (community, economic, environmental) None Legal and Governance Yes Risk Yes Consultation Internal Yes External None Communication Communications Plan None 1. Strategic Implications Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement 1.1 This section sets out how the proposals relate to the delivery of the Perth and Kinross Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement in terms of the following priorities: (i) Giving every child the best start in life; (ii) Developing educated, responsible and informed citizens; (iii) Promoting a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable economy; (iv) Supporting people to lead independent, healthy and active lives; and (v) Creating a safe and sustainable place for future generations. This report relates to Objective No. (i, iv and v). Corporate Plan 1.2 This section sets out how the proposals relate to the achievement of the Council’s Corporate Plan Objectives: (i) Giving every child the best start in life; (ii) Developing educated, responsible and informed citizens; (iii) Promoting a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable economy; (iv) Supporting people to lead independent, healthy and active lives; and (v) Creating a safe and sustainable place for future generations.
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This report relates to Objective No. (i, iv and v). 1.3 The report also links to the Education and Learning; and the Children, Families and Justice Services Vision, Values and Priorities in respect of the following key Priority areas: • Best Start • Learning and Achievement • Health and Wellbeing • Care and Equity • Safe and Protected 2. Resource Implications Financial 2.1 There are no direct financial implications associated with this report. Workforce 2.2 The report highlights the workforce implications associated with the fulfilment of statutory social work duties and addressing increasing demand and complexity of need in caring for and protecting the most vulnerable and at-risk people in our communities. Asset Management (land, property, IT) 2.3 Not applicable. 3. Assessments Equality Impact Assessment 3.1 Under the Equality Act 2010, the Council is required to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between equality groups. Carrying out Equality Impact Assessments for plans and policies allows the Council to demonstrate that it is meeting these duties. 3.1.1 The proposals have been considered under the Corporate Equalities Impact Assessment process (EqIA) with the following outcome: (i) Assessed as not relevant for the purposes of EqIA. Strategic Environmental Assessment 3.2 The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 places a duty on the Council to identify and assess the environmental consequences of its proposals.
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3.2.1 The proposals have been considered under the Act; however, no further action is required as it does not qualify as a PPS as defined by the Act and therefore exempt. Sustainability 3.3 Under the provisions of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003, the Council has to discharge its duties in a way which contributes to the achievement of sustainable development. Under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 the Council also has a duty relating to climate change and, in exercising its functions must act: • In the way best calculated to delivery of the Act’s emissions reduction targets. • In the way best calculated to deliver any statutory adaption programmes. • In a way that it considers most sustainable. 3.3.1 Not applicable. Legal and Governance 3.4 The statutory role of CSWO was undertaken by the Strategic Lead - Children, Families and Justice from 1 April 2024. 3.5 Not applicable. Risk 3.6 Not applicable. 4. Consultation Internal 4.1 Consultation has taken place with the Council’s Executive Leadership Team and the Head of Integrated Health and Care. External 4.2 Not applicable. 5. Communication 5.1 Not applicable. 2. BACKGROUND PAPERS 2.1 No background papers, as defined by Section 50D of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (and not containing confidential or exempt information) were relied on to a material extent in preparing the above report:
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3. APPENDICES 3.1 Appendix 1 - Chief Social Work Officer Annual Report 2023/24