CSWO Report Final 24-25
Argyll and Bute Council · 24 September 2025
Back to Argyll and Bute Council — 24 September 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Appendix 1 Argyll and Bute Chief Social Work Officer Annual Report 2024/25 Daibhidh MacGileabairt David Gibson Àrd-Oifigear Obair Shòisealta Chief Social Work Officer Earra Ghàidheal is Bhòid Argyll and Bute
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3 | P a g e Contents: 1. Introduction Page 4 2. Governance and Accountability Page 7 3. Service Quality and Performance Page 10 Adults Children, Families & Justice Statistics 4. Resources Page 39 Financial Overview 5. Workforce Page 41 6. Conclusion Page 45
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4 | P a g e Chief Social Work Officers Report 1. Introduction This is the annual Chief Social Work Officer (CSWO) report for Argyll and Bute for the period from 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025. On reviewing the CSWO reports for the last few years many of the pressures remain the same. Indeed, they may be intensifying. In Argyll & Bute the geographic challenges are a fact of life. Distance and transport often being key factors impacting our communities. Emergency planning is in place and has had to be stood up a number of times due to the impact of storms on arterial mainland routes. In the last year geographic challenges have arguably been exacerbated for our island communities by the increasingly fragile ferry service. It is of note that at a national and local level those of us living and working on our islands still require to remind policy makers of the requirements of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 and the need for Island Community Impact Assessments. Remote and island communities must be central to thinking and not on the periphery. Demographic challenges continue. The number of people of working age is decreasing. The workforce is ageing. The proportion of those who are retired is increasing and the numbers over 75 years old is increasing at a faster rate. To put it simply, for Social Work and Social Care this means that we do not have the people to look after the people. There are vacancies throughout the workforce. Continuing to attempt to offer services in the ways that have been done up till now is quite simply a futile task. We cannot be expected to provide the same service for increasing numbers of people with less staff. Digital solutions such as AI require to be invested in and accelerated, freeing staff to engage in those elements of service which require a relational approach. The Third Sector is as impacted as the public sector. The start of this reporting period saw the closure of two services for children with disability. Efforts at procurement failed and work had to concentrate on providing support in the only way remaining, direct payments. In some instances, pressure is primarily financial, however recruitment and retention are often more pressing. The shape of services and provision is changing out of necessity. It is worthy of note, although developing outside the time period of this report, that there is talk of reducing visas for those coming from abroad to work in Social Care. There is further discussion of raising the minimum salary to be deemed a skilled worker for visa purposes. Such initiatives will worsen our staffing position. Recruiting from outside the UK has been a successful angle for Argyll & Bute with staff coming from both the EU and further afield. The financial pressures within the wider sector of health, Social Care and Social Work are well documented. Audit Scotland noted in July 2024 an increasing funding gap in IJBs across Scotland. Argyll & Bute have managed their resources in as prudent as possible a way however like many others this has relied on one off savings, vacancies and financial reserves. As Audit Scotland noted this is not sustainable. Given the demographic realities it is not surprising that adult Social Care is the largest fiscal pressure. Followed by the cost of children’s external placements. The gap between the shape our communities would like services to take and what can be afforded is increasing. The gap between the resources needed to meet the statutory duties placed on Social Work and Social Care and the budget being given to do that, feels to be increasing.
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5 | P a g e The pressure from policy and legislation continues. In January 2025 efforts to move towards a National Care Service were effectively abandoned with structural reform aimed at a national service model being dropped. Responsibility for Social Work and Social Care is being retained by Local Authorities. In last year’s CSWO report it was acknowledged that the debate on the NCS had swallowed up significant time and effort. The ambiguity around the future structures was leading to the potential for planning blight. There is now a degree of certainty, however during the period covered by this report, it remained unclear what if anything of the NCS debate would be progressed through an alternative legislative path. Responsibilities resultant from the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 began to come into force. The main impact for Social Work and Social Care being increased reporting on the staffing within registered services. Consultations were held on various elements of practice. For example: The potential to regulate the role of Social Work Assistant through the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC). For example: Moving on from Care into Adulthood – improving transitions for young people leaving care. It is expected these will result in further guidance or legislation and will be reported on in subsequent CSWO reports. Of particular note is the milestone incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scots Law. It came into force on 16th July 2024. Children need to be considered when taking decisions on any aspect of public life. Scotland taking a lead in promoting the rights of children is highly commendable and it is now imperative the wherewithal is provided to ensure there is the ability to meet these raised expectations. Individually all these policy and legal developments are to be welcomed. It is when taken together the picture becomes one of increasing pressure with a real danger of policy ‘clutter’. Professionals are not getting the opportunity to consolidate knowledge, understanding or practice. With so many competing demands, inevitably Social Work and Social Care staff are having to prioritise what can be done. We are forced into a tiered approach. It is to be seen whether the financial support from central government matches the policy aspirations. Given the challenges faced, our staff need to be congratulated on the positive impact they manage to have on people’s lives. It is in the relationships we develop with people, not the numbers of reports or assessments, where the true worth of our Social Workers and Social Care staff is experienced. As a local community and a nation, we require to recognise that it is often individual staff staying late, working beyond their contracted hours, that is keeping the Social Work and Social Care system running. As always, I use this report to thank them for their commitment. At an organisational level developments are taking place. Of note over the time period of this report has been the extensive work, along with Police Scotland and Education colleagues, on child protection practice. Argyll & Bute has been able to establish a Bairns Hoose and are now partnering with West Dunbartonshire, NHS Highland, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Police Scotland to establish the support model for traumatised children. Focus is now turning to adult protection. The Older Adult Strategy has been developed and agreed with the IJB. The Collaborative Care Home Group has continued to develop a wider, more holistic approach to supporting the entire care home estate including our external partners. An Intensive Resettlement Pathway has been implemented for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children.
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6 | P a g e This report will be in the format shared by the Office of the Chief Social Work Advisor. The report will cover: • Governance & Accountability • Service Quality & Performance • Resources • Workforce
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7 | P a g e 2. Governance and Accountability Throughout the last year the governance and accountability of the CSWO, Social Work and Social Care services has largely remained constant. As Chief Social Work Officer for Argyll and Bute, I am also Head of Children, Families and Justice. This portfolio includes direct responsibility for all Social Work services for Children, Families and Justice as well as all associated resources such as Children’s Houses. Within the scheme of delegation deployed in Argyll & Bute my responsibilities also include health services ranging across CAMHS, Maternity, School Nursing, paediatric AHPs and Health Visiting. There are four staff who can deputise for the CSWO. The Professional Lead for Social Work in adult services, the Senior Service Manager for Justice, the Senior Service Manager for Children & Families Operations and the Senior Service Manager for Children’s Resources. All require to be qualified registered Social Workers and work for the Local Authority. This deputization has been strengthened in the last year. As CSWO I am a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) of the Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) and have specific accountability for the delivery of Social Work and Social Care services ensuring that the statutory duties of the profession are delivered across children’s, adult’s and justice services. Partnership working takes place with a wide range of multi-agency professionals including the Chief Officer of the HSCP, Chief Executive of the Council, Elected Members, managers and practitioners. There are regular meetings with the Chief Executive of Argyll and Bute Council and the Chief Officer of the HSCP. Importantly there are increasing strong relationships with senior staff in Police Scotland, Scottish Fire & Rescue, Scottish Children’s Reporters Administration and Third Sector organisations. As Head of Children, Families and Justice the strength of relationship with the Heads of Education facilitates joint working on strategy and ensures we are also ‘getting it right for every child’ on a case-by-case basis. It is recognised that work of children’s Social Work services are intrinsically linked to the work of the Education Service. To strengthen this there are now regular meetings involving the Heads of Service, Chief Officer and Executive Director. There are continuing discussions on a Single Authority Model (SAM) like the Single Island Authority (SIA) being developed by Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar and Orkney. As Social Work necessarily must work beyond organisational boundaries, any movement to ensure such boundaries are not obstacles has huge saliency. It is of particular interest for Children’s Services as any move towards closer integration with Education, the largest universal service for children, can only be of advantage. These discussions are at an early stage however are supported by Scottish Government. I am a member of various key groups and committees within the organisation. Clear governance and reporting arrangements are in place. The CSWO provides professional advice and guidance on all Social Work matters and provides assurance that Social Work services are being delivered to the best standards and within the required statutory and policy guidelines. Regular performance reporting around risk management is also provided with the CSWO specifically reporting through the Chief Officers Group for Public Protection. The CSWO is the MAPPA (Multi-agency public protection arrangements) lead officer and is a member of the Adult Support and Protection and Child Protection Committees. The CSWO is part of the Community Justice Partnership. The CSWO, or those deputising, continues to have input into Care Home oversight. The CSWO further reports to the IJB on key changes and developments regarding the Social Work profession.
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8 | P a g e As mentioned in the introduction the push towards a National Care Service has been effectively abandoned. Nevertheless, further legislation on elements of the original concept is expected in the shape of a Care Reform Act. For the period of this report, it was as yet unclear what that will be. Major change in the scheme of delegation is however no longer envisaged. The complicated health pathways and governance does impact Social Work. While part of NHS Highland, many specialist pathways lead to services in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. In Social Work terms this has impacted forensic services for Justice Social Work, mental health pathways and the diagnosis / review of children with Additional Support Needs. Work continues on Service Level Agreements; however, this can be labour intensive and slow. It continues to feel that Argyll and Bute HSCP are the junior partner in these negotiations and Social Work only one small voice within the HSCP. NHS Highland did have a representative on the Senior Officers Group (SOG) for the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) throughout 2024. This is an improvement on previous years. It is clear from discussion at a national level that there are a variety of models for the governance of Social Work. This is due to the variety of organisational arrangements the profession finds itself in. Dictated in large part by the various local schemes of delegation. Work continued through this time period on developing the concept of a National Social Work Agency and with that perhaps an increasing expectation of consistency. The Care Inspectorate carried out a thematic review of Social Work governance in Scotland. Reporting in March 2025. There were several key findings: • Governance arrangements are generally effective despite being complex. There was a suggestion of developing dedicated Social Work governance boards in each area. Along with Social Work Scotland colleagues this is a function Argyll & Bute would hope to develop in the next year. • Social work influence is sometimes limited within Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs), with health priorities often dominating. Chief Social Work Officers (CSWOs) play a key role in amplifying Social Work's voice and ensuring there is an understanding of the role of Social Work including statutory responsibilities which lie with the profession. • Social work values are upheld by staff at all levels, with SSSC Codes of Practice being key reference points for ethical practice. • Assurance mechanisms are mostly effective, though performance reporting does not always capture the full breadth of Social Work activity, particularly in adult services. • Significant challenges exist regarding staffing and financial resources, with recruitment and retention being critical issues nationwide, amplified in rural and island settings. • Staff support systems are generally effective, with supervision arrangements working well, though increasing caseload complexity impacts staff wellbeing. There were also several national challenges identified and will be touched at various points in this report. • Social work services struggle to match supply with increasing demand and complex need, risking their ability to fulfil statutory duties. • Traditional relationship-based practice is being replaced by more transactional engagement, particularly in adult social work.
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9 | P a g e • A national approach is needed urgently to address the recruitment and retention crisis and ensure social work sustainability. As CSWO I am also involved in several national groups. These include chairing Social Work Scotland’s (SWS) Workforce and Resources Standing Committee and as such I am a member of the SWS Board, membership of the national steering group for the Scottish Child Interview Model, and membership of the Remote and Island CSWOs group. Importantly, these allow the issues of remote and island practice to be brought to bear on the national stage.
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10 | P a g e 3. Service Quality and Performance Service quality and performance is managed on an ongoing basis and in several ways. This is in line with the discharge arrangements of the CSWO and the requirement to manage the performance and quality of Social Work services being delivered. The CSWO is an active participant in the key service performance and improvement meetings including Clinical and Care Governance, the Chief Officers Group for Public Protection, Child Protection Committee, Adult Support and Protection Committee, Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements and the Care Home Oversight Group etc. This is set out in detail in the previous section on governance. As all of Social Work and Social Care in Argyll & Bute are delegated to the IJB / HSCP the internal clinical and care structures are inherently involved in the governance of the profession. Nevertheless, there is a recognition that much of statutory Social Work has assurance processes which are by necessity multi-agency in nature. Most obviously CPC, APC and MAPPA. These are national structures which we require to have and recognises that in the case of Justice or Children’s Social Work these functions are not consistently delegated to IJBs across the country. The potential for duplication requires to be constantly avoided. As mentioned above, the Care Inspectorate carried out a thematic review of Social Work governance. Social Work Scotland is working on these recommendations along with Chief Social Work Officers. It is expected a standardised Social Work governance framework will result with each area being able to add bespoke elements to address local integration schemes. A specific Social Work governance group is anticipated, encompassing all aspects of the profession. During the period covered by this report work has been ongoing on implementation of the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019. Social Work is not covered by the Act, however regulated services are. This includes the likes of the Fostering & Adoption Service, Care Homes, and Children’s Houses. Early indications are that the Act has added to the reporting load rather than making any practical difference. All regulated services are already scrutinised by the Care Inspectorate and address staffing adequacy with them. In the Fostering and Adoption Services which are covered by the Act it is only Social Workers who are employed, who are paradoxically not covered by the Act. Notwithstanding the complications of the Act, Argyll & Bute remains committed to attempting to reach staffing levels across Social Work and Social Care services which allow us to meet our statutory duties. Within Argyll and Bute HSCP there is an attempt to deal with health, Social Work and Social Care complaints and incidents within an integrated framework. There are regular Quality and People Safety (QPS) meetings involving all professional leads and senior managers. All Social Work and Social Care complaints are dealt with through established Council procedures.
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11 | P a g e Performance monitoring has also been thorough, and we have contributed to all statistical data requests from the Scottish Government. Variations between localities within Argyll and Bute have been recognised and reflected on. Data within an authority with a small population must always be treated carefully. A small variation in numbers can look significant when presented as percentages. Significant percentage falls or increases must be examined to uncover the complex human narratives which often lie behind the numbers. Performance and planning require to consider the objective data and the subjective human stories. The Eclipse case management system is deployed in Argyll & Bute. Initial implementation took place in 2023. It would be accurate to state that the system continues to need development to ensure it is producing accurate data and is efficiently recording the necessary information. It is proving to be a labour-intensive process, and the advantages of the system have still to be fully realised. Work is taking place to ensure Eclipse works alongside the Civica date storage system. Throughout 2024 children and families Social Work have had to commit an operational Social Work Team Manager to support the Eclipse development. Following a child protection file reading exercise an action plan was developed along with a multi- agency leadership group, first line managers group and CPC. The commitment to this work across agencies has been exemplary and supported by Council Chief Executive and Police Scotland Area Commander. Over the coming year there will require to be a replication of this work in Adult Support and Protection. Care Inspectorate activity remains challenging as the feedback is very much that people continue to feel ‘done to’ by the current inspection model rather than ‘worked with’. The current model of inspection is not taking the context of a national staffing crisis, nor the aftermath of social problems associated with the pandemic or the UK’s exit from the EU into consideration, nor Argyll & Bute’s remote and island geography, nor the small scale of our structures compared to the urban centre. As previously reported inspection experiences can be demotivating with people feeling blamed without the context within which they are practicing being fully acknowledged, understood and reflected through inspection reports. Senior HSCP staff are meeting regularly with local link inspectors and national Care Inspectorate leaders to ensure a greater degree of partnership working in improvement activity. Relations with the local link inspector for Argyll & Bute are excellent. The Care Inspectorate have indicated their focus over 2025/2026 will on vulnerable children looked after at home. There is currently a consultation taking place on how the Care Inspectorate / Scottish Government will scrutinise the functioning of Chief Officer Groups for Public Protection. There have been no strategic inspections during this reporting period. Adult Services Adult services have two Heads of Service responsible for different aspects of Argyll & Bute’s services. These are integrated management posts therefore also cover significant elements of health services in addition to Social Work and Social Care. The portfolios covered by Heads of Service in Argyll and Bute are significantly wider than the equivalent in many other local authorities. The ‘all in’ nature of
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12 | P a g e integration in Argyll and Bute dictates this wide portfolio. For example, Argyll and Bute is the only Health & Social Care Partnership in Scotland where maternity services are delegated. During the period covered by this report one of the adult Heads of Service was absent and being covered by a member of the health team acting up. The two adult Heads of Service cover practice team Social Work and specialist teams such as Adult Support & Protection and mental health. The exact portfolio each one covers has changed over time and during the period of temporary cover this changed again. Adult Area Team Social Work Adult Area Team Social Work sits within locality or operational teams, managed by Area Managers. These Area Managers are responsible for services across their locality including social work and community health services and community hospitals. Like the Heads of Service these are integrated management posts and can come from either employer. Currently the incumbents of these posts are all NHS employees. This creates risks to Social Work supervision and management. There is a degree of mitigation in place with an updated supervision procedure being developed to ensure professional standards, support and supervision are in place. Nevertheless, further work is required to ensure the ‘golden thread’ of Social Work responsibility is not diluted any further. Of note is the previous mention of a Social Work Governance Board to cover all aspects of the profession. The Professional Lead for Social Work leads on the Newly Qualified Supported Year programme and coordinates and facilitates the Newly Qualified Social Work Forums, Social Work Team Manager Forums and Social Work Assistant Development forums. These all add to the assurance and standardisation of practice. In last years CSWO report we pointed to statistical data which suggested a downward trend in referrals for our services. Caution was advised due to changes in the reporting mechanisms. This year’s statistical data, which are reported later in the report, would now indicate a steadying of the referral rate to somewhere around 110 or so per month on average. Other metrics would suggest rising need. For example, the number of adults in receipt of care at home services is trending upwards over the last year. Not unsurprisingly the number of reviews of Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 2023/24 260 225 177 167 128 158 102 146 122 129 2024/25 113 114 85 148 107 105 123 104 113 143 125 82 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Adult Social Care Referrals by Month and Year
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13 | P a g e such care is also on the rise. This increase in workload has to be seen with the context of staffing issues, third sector organisations ‘handing back’ services and financial restrictions. (Data Dashboards 2022/23 & 2023/24) Older Adults The older adult strategy- Promoting Independence and Well Being was completed and agreed by the IJB in 2025. The development of a year one action plan is underway and will be reported in next year’s CSWO report. The strategy covers health, Social Work and Social Care. In summary: • Redefinition of Single Point of Contact (SPoC) Access • Redesign of Assessment and Care Co-ordination, including Care Reviews • Preventative Models of Care – Urgent Community Response and a redefinition of care beds • Reablement approach is a vein running throughout Future planning began on: • A redesign of care homes and housing beds based on detailed profiling of population and bed use predictions. These predictions were completed in the first quarter of 2025 and potential options appraisal models of care beds for the future will be ready for engagement and consultation in the autumn of 2025. • Islands approach to our health, Social Care and Social Work. During this period the care home on Tigh-a-Rhuda, Tiree received island and HSCP funding to redesign the care home and create en-suite rooms and staff accommodation. The care home on Islay, Gortonvogie was strengthened in terms of its staff recruitment and staff engagement, although remains vulnerable due to the level of agency staffing required. • A wholesale organisational redesign of Argyll and Bute care at home services. A focus on digital and training is well underway. Consultation events were carried out with front line staff and the first stage of organisational redesign for front line carers is in progression. The wider organisational review of care at home is in train to be completed in 2026. • The focus on digital first and what it can achieve including a scheduling system for care at home, consideration of devices to decrease distress at home, virtual medication prompting and care provision, this is progressing as part of the care at home steering group. • Realistic public conversations about health, Social Care and Social Work capabilities and how the challenging financial climate is likely to impact what we can sustainably offer. Collaborative Care Home Group During 2024-25, the Collaborative Care Home Group has continued to develop a wider, more holistic approach to supporting the entire care home estate across Argyll & Bute including our external partners. The group has been successful in recruiting into a Team Lead for Care Home Review post. This role undertook an evaluation of the reviews being carried out across all homes, identifying good practice and existing barriers to achieving success in this area. The legacy of this role has been a newly agreed process for assessing and collating care planning information for each resident and ensuring that an agreed process is in place for conducting reviews in line with legislative requirements.
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14 | P a g e Care Governance processes continue to be strengthened across the sector. Within Argyll and Bute our Care Home and Care at Home Clinical & Care Governance group meets quarterly assessing learning to be achieved and agreeing on guidance documents. This has included the wide-ranging guidance developed to ensure consistency when making last minute changes to rotas to maintain acceptable staffing levels. Care at Home Following on from the questionnaire sent out to service users last year we have continued to forge ahead with our wide-ranging review of the service, something which has not been done in 10-15 years. As well as hearing from staff via the questionnaire, we have also met with staff across locations to hear their thoughts on the service, what works well, what we could do better, how they see the service evolving and how they wish to be involved in this evolution. Comments heard from staff included the integration of better face to face training in their roles, more time with managers to develop their skills and abilities and a realignment of their roles and job descriptions to better reflect what they do on a day-to-day basis. This review is continuing at this time with a steering group driving forward the various subgroups set up to examine how we can achieve organisations change, better training for staff, a more sustainable financial model and a more tech integrated service. Integrating technical advances into the service shouldn’t be seen as something to add on, this should be an option to be explored with everyone in receipt of care to determine how best to meet their needs. The significant financial pressures on care at home to be more sustainable is something that we are working towards. Examining ways of using our resources more efficiently as well as focussing on reducing our recent over reliance on agency staff across areas such as Oban. (It is acknowledged that the debate on the shape of care at home services has developed in recent months, however it is out with the time scale of this report to make any substantive comment.) Day Services Day services for older adults provide a key role in offering respite for carers. It is recognised however that there is uneven coverage of these services across Argyll and Bute. A full review of our existing day supports is underway. Drop-in sessions have taken place to garner opinions and comments from those using the services along with their representatives and families. We have commissioned an external research company to conduct a mapping exercise of all existing day supports available across our locality areas, identifying gaps and where further provision and diversification of services could be of use to the wider community. Adult Support and Protection: Over the year there have been 1017 Adult Support and Protection (ASP) Referrals, including both Vulnerable Person and Adult at Risk, equating to twelve referrals per one thousand population. 349 Adult at Risk referrals were actioned as formal adult protection Inquiries, this represents a slight increase on last year’s figures identifying 327 AP inquiries.
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15 | P a g e Through 2024/25 ASP activity has again been affected by staffing sickness, retention and recruitment challenges. This impacted the ability to continue with a central Adult Protection Team. To ensure that the service continued to provide timely and effective ASP intervention across the Partnership we were obliged to revert to sharing all ASP referrals across all the locality teams. Owing to staffing shortages and the volume of work we continued to struggle to meet our defined timescales for completion of initial Inquiry within 5 days of receipt of referral. We remain confident however, from our monitoring of ASP activity, that inquiries were conducted in a timescale in keeping with the needs of the individual. We continued to work with our colleagues in the Eclipse Systems Support and Performance and Information Teams to ensure that the Eclipse IT enabled us to record our risk analysis of an adult’s circumstances and our plans for effective protection. The collection of data for both our own and national purposes continue to improve as both teams work on the system revisions required. Data analysis revealed that once again Police Scotland are our most prolific referrers, representing 53% of all our Vulnerable Person and Adult at Risk referrals. We work closely with our colleagues in the Police Concern Hub and our monthly Multi-Agency Forums enabled us to work together to protect and support many of the adults identified within these referrals. We welcomed the opportunity to work with new Concern Hub officers earlier this year, particularly in developing our joint working through use of multiagency Initial referral discussions. We have also noted increased referral numbers from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) who also attend our Multiagency Forums. Self-harm and self-neglect together totalled 43% of the identified types of principal harm. The SFRS are most supportive in working with adults whose self- harm and neglect results in concerns for their safety within the home. Since the retirement of our external trainer in early 2024, we have been unable to sustain the high numbers of training session we had previously achieved, particularly with our Social Work Council Officers and other significant professional groups who are involved in regular ASP activities. Throughout the year, we have endeavoured to maintain the opportunities for staff to participate in essential learning and development through an increase in level 1 ASP Awareness sessions, some bespoke sessions for specific staff groups and ‘bitesize’ ASP process training sessions between our quarterly Council Officer Forums. Throughout 2024, work took place to revise our substantial document ‘Understanding Adult Support and Protection Procedure in Argyll and Bute’. It was issued by the Adult Protection Committee (APC) in November 2024 and is designed to provide practical guidance to all staff within the Partnership involved in supporting and protecting adults at risk of harm. Having completed our last ASP file reading audit in January 2024, we committed to ongoing annual audit. We agreed to look more extensively at a reduced number of files and undertake the file reading as a group activity. We were grateful to colleagues in Children and Families for their guidance. Multiagency group file reading provides valuable development opportunities for the file readers learning from other group members. Additionally, more detailed evidence on the quality of ASP intervention can be identified as each reader contributes to the collective analysis of the file. Preparation commenced in late 2024/early 2025 for a 4-day audit set for May 2025. We revised the extensive ASP analysis template in line with the new Care Inspectorate Quality Improvement Framework (QIF), identified and briefed our file reading groups and set about gathering the multiagency records required. The preparation was time consuming, and we are most grateful to all
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16 | P a g e who have been involved in this significant event. This work will be reported in next year’s CSWO report. Karen Ralston was appointed as the new Chair of the APC in July 2024. She has over 40 years of Social Work service and 20 years holding senior leadership roles. Karen has brought a wonderful combination of practice expertise and thoughtful leadership. Having gained extensive experience working with a wide and diverse range of services for children and adults in urban and remote areas and being able to utilise Health & Social Care knowledge and partnership achieved, she has established a new solid foundation for working and supporting the Committee and ensured we build on our protection and support for adults at risk of harm. The APC has seen some changes of membership; it remains committed to fostering a continuous improvement ethos with the support of our colleagues from the Care Inspectorate and other leading agencies. The APC has valued the support of the Child Protection Committee (CPC) where our protection roles overlap, particularly in the context of supporting young people. Additionally, the Lead Officer’s membership of the Alcohol and Drug Partnership and the Violence Against Women and Girls Partnership remains essential in understanding where ASP has a role in working with these collective organisations. We continue to rely on Lomond and Argyll Advocacy Services to play a vital role in relation to service user support in investigations, case conferences and monitoring of outcomes. Adults at risk of harm are encouraged to attend and contribute to all ASP meetings about them and we recognise this can be daunting. Advocacy team members have been invaluable in supporting vulnerable adult to ensure that their voice is heard. The launch of the Care Inspectorate Quality Improvement Framework (QIF) in October 2024 has been hugely helpful for Lead Officers to focus on what good practice in ASP activity should look like from the role of the APC through to consideration of specific tasks undertaken by Social Work staff in their everyday ASP work. The QIF, alongside other best practice initiatives, promoted within the National Implementation Group, West of Scotland Lead Officers group and the ASP Hub have all served to set the wider agenda for ongoing review and ultimate improvement of our service into 2025/26. Mental Health and Addictions Our services within Argyll and Bute HSCP continue to work in integrated health and social work teams across mental health, addictions and dementia services. Local Authorities have a duty to provide Mental Health Officers to manage the range of statutory interventions via the various legislation within health and Social Work. This includes providing services to those subject to the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003; the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000, as well as having knowledge of the Adult Support and Protection Act 2007. The MHOs often manage complex cases involving high risk management, including forensic cases and care management duties associated with person centred care planning. We have a total of 14 MHOs at present. However, there are only 7 permanent MHOs working within the 4 Community Mental Health Teams and 1 MHO based in Children and Families Service. The Service Manager and the Lead Officer for Adult Protection can only provide duty cover and cannot carry caseloads. There are 2 student MHOs at present and 2 agency MHOs.
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17 | P a g e Throughout 2024, there were 4 agency MHOs employed, 2 within Cowal & Bute CMHT and 2 within Helensburgh and Lomond CMHT. From December 20024, 1 agency contract was ended in H&L and another contract ended for C&B in March 2024. Training for forthcoming MHOs - Unfortunately, we have not had any successful applications for the 2025/26 MHO course which is provided by the University of Strathclyde. The only applicant did not have the relevant experience required and has been asked to prepare more for the following year if still interested. There are local pressures in each of our areas. The Oban area has increased amounts of older people who require legal intervention through the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. There is often a backlog of cases and the timeframe for these applications being presented at court has increased, often due to the delay with obtaining medical reports to accompany the applications. This is out with the control of the MHO service. There are shortages of resources, including suitable care homes for under 65s whose presentation is in relation to mental health diagnoses. There have been two clients who have required out of area placements in the past year from Oban area. In Helensburgh & Lomond the NHS part of the CMHT team is provided by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. There are a few differences, with their Standard Operational Procedures, which for example does not include referrals from SWs. This can often cause delays when Social Workers must request a GP to make a referral to the team rather than doing it directly. The relationship between Argyll & Bute and NHS Highland and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is undoubtedly one of the complications of integration. Helensburgh receives the most statutory work via the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 2015. MHOs are often requested to attend Gartnavel Hospital or other hospitals in Glasgow and Paisley due to the location and care being provided by NHS GG&C services. One MHO post was advertised more than eleven times during the past year, without any interest from qualified practitioners. The MHO student who worked for another team in Helensburgh accepted the post in January 2025. The workload in servicing Welfare Guardianships remains high. The Supervision of welfare guardians often presents challenges, as the guardians should have meetings with either the MHO or a SW who has been identified to provide the supervision requirement, at least once per year. There are many cases where there is no identified Supervision Officer. This is an area of risk where we continue to grapple to find a solution. Consideration continues on the structures which will offer equity of MHO provision across Argyll & Bute and allow priority work to be completed. In the next year there will be further consideration given to the potential to have an advanced practitioner role. This would include MHO practitioner along with the likes of child protection SCIM interviewers. Learning Disability, Autism and Transitions, Sensory Impairment Services.
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18 | P a g e As in previous years work continues on the repatriation of individuals who are currently placed out with the Argyll and Bute area. Overall, this is proving to be very challenging as it brings with it the requirement for additional local specialist resources and provision which can take investment and years to develop. Key partners from the housing and third sectors include Affinity, Enable, Key Housing, Scottish Autism, Cornerstone, The Priory Group, Hub North and NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde. Whilst all our out of area placements have been regularly reviewed by the Learning Disability Social Work teams we additionally contracted with Carr Gomm for them to independently review the placements and this exercise was completed in April 2025. The findings of that exercise were largely consistent with our expectations in respect of Service User, Family and carer wishes within only 1 of the 43 cases there being expressions of dissatisfaction with the current arrangements for care requesting urgent consideration for an alternative arrangement to be made and a further 2 of the 43 where we are looking for alternatives at the Guardians requests. Within Argyll and Bute, we have completed a 6-person flatted development with West Highland Housing Association in Dunbeg, and the 4-person facility at the Sawmill Site, in Helensburgh. A further 6-person flatted development in Rothesay, in partnership with Argyll Community Housing Association has been commissioned and we’ll hopefully move to full occupancy by November 2025. Staffing, recruitment and financial pressures across the sector have added to operational and development challenges however we are continuing to work with our colleagues from Argyll & Bute Council Housing Options Group scoping other possible site options particularly in Helensburgh and Oban. The demographic indicators within the Learning Disability sector are that we will require additional specialist care and supported living options for young adults with complex needs and for others whose family and care/support arrangements are not sustainable in the longer term. All Senior Support staff in Day Services have satisfactorily completed their SVQ4 qualifications, with one receiving The Student of the Year award from Argyll College UHI. Children & Families and Justice Services The Children & Families Service includes Social Work, Youth Justice, Children’s Resources, Child Poverty, Child Health, Paediatric Allied Health Professionals, Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) and Maternity Services. Within the organisational structures of the Argyll and Bute’s HSCP, Justice Services, Community Justice and Violence Women and Girls also sit within this same department. Justice Services Justice Social Work can at times appear to be a separate service from much of the rest of Social Work carried out within the auspices of Argyll & Bute HSCP. Perhaps partly due to the separate centrally allocated ring-fenced funding model, perhaps due to their being little health equivalent to this Social Work service. As such a lengthier commentary is given in this year’s CSWO to raise awareness of the crucial and significant work carried out by this service. During the time frame of this report, the Care Inspectorate undertook a national self-evaluation exercise which focussed on evaluating the extent to which justice Social Work services were able to evidence performance, quality and outcomes in relation to community-based sentences; exploring the factors that impacted justice Social Work services’ ability to confidently and robustly demonstrate the effectiveness and impact of community support and supervision. This was undertaken over a 3-month period between Sept – November 2024. This led the service to re-
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19 | P a g e evaluate the way in which the large volume of data collected can be used to better inform practice developments. Justice Social Work (JSW) produces Aggregate and Unit Returns every year from Eclipse and submits it to the Scottish Government for inclusion in the national bulletin for Justice Social Work. As part of our Performance Improvement Programme an annual review of statistical information is undertaken. This report looks at the outturns achieved over the last year for Bail, Structured Deferred Sentences, Diversion, Justice Social Work Reports, Community Payback Orders and statutory throughcare as recorded in the Aggregate Return, and compares them to previous years. This allows areas of change to be identified, and recommendations made for any action to be taken. This review is one method used by to deliver performance improvement for Justice Social Work and is linked to the outcomes contained within the Community Justice Strategy and Performance Framework, Justice Vision and Priorities for Scotland and the JSW Strategy Map - safe and resilient communities. One of our main concerns about the publication of the aggregate return data is that it is always a year out of date, with recently published data being for year 23/24. To establish ‘real time’ trend analysis we have introduced a tracker (Performance Dashboard) on a monthly basis commencing September 24 where we can identify any spikes or issues in workload in real time and address accordingly. The performance dashboard is still a work in progress and will develop more fully over time. The information within this report is therefore a combination of published data for 23/24 and unvalidated real time data spanning the period Sept 24 – March 25. Bail In 2023/24, there were 57 requests for bail assessments and 15 new cases commenced. The number of requests for Bail assessment has shown a significant increase following changes in legislation and court practice. The number of Bail supervisions has also increased sharply but only relates to 26% of assessments. Conversion rates are therefore low but is higher than the national average of 23%. Our performance data from the period Sept 24 – March 25 indicates that the number of bail assessments will surpass those of 23/34 with 42 assessments being completed in a 6-month period. Work will be ongoing to determine the conversion rates for this period. Further changes are planned for 2025/26 by Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service to address the low conversion rates from bail assessments to supervision. The main issue identified locally is that many of the cases where bail assessments are completed, the Sheriff has already dealt with the case and either remanded or released on standard bail without knowledge of whether a bail assessment is being completed. It is anticipated that the new system will enable tighter communication between Justice Social Work and the Courts to ensure that the Sheriff’s do not hear cases if an assessment is being prepared and until they are in receipt of this. Structured Deferred Sentences Structured Deferred Sentences are a relatively new sentencing option whereby Courts can defer sentence on an individual to allow short term pieces of work to be undertaken or to test likely compliance with statutory supervision. This is generally for periods of 3 – 6 months, but they can be extended if required.
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20 | P a g e In 23/24 there were 25 SDS cases commenced, and the use of this sentencing option has increased year on year since it became available. Data available for 24/25 indicates that the use of SDS is beginning to plateau, with 24 cases being imposed. Diversion from Prosecution During 23/24, there were 124 referrals for Diversion assessments with 88 cases commenced. The use of diversion continues to increase year on year. Data available from Sept 24 – March 25 indicates there were 66 referrals in that 6-month period. The age profile demonstrates that Diversion is used predominantly for those aged 16 – 17 New national guidance on Diversion is due to be published during 2025/26 and any changes to practice will be implemented. This will include the introduction of Diversion Max which will increase the length of time allotted to complete intervention work with an individual from 12 weeks to 9 months. This change will see us being expected to assess and work with more serious cases. This may have an impact on how we deliver services as in the main it is our unqualified staff who oversee diversion at present. Justice Social Work Reports The number of JSWRs requested by the Courts has continued to rise and has surpassed pre lockdown levels, with 459 requests in the year 24/25. 7 6 16 21 25 9 3 11 10 12 0 0 7 5 10 2 1 2 3 65 10 11 11 14 6 9 11 25 21 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Number of cases commenced by age 16-17: 18-20: 21-25: 26-30: 31-40: Over 40:
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21 | P a g e With the introduction of our Performance Dashboard in Sept 24 we have been able to breakdown the number of report requests by locality. The graph below indicates that Bute & Cowal have, over a 6-month period, had the highest number of report requests, with Mid Argyll, Kintyre and Islay having the least. The number of report requests can however fluctuate on a month-to-month basis which can add short term workload pressures for staff. Further analysis of the data allows us to track whether reports are submitted on time to the Court (by 12 noon 48 hrs before Court date), the reasons for late submission and establish if there are particular members of staff who have a pattern of this so that it can be addressed with them. Community Payback Orders As with JSWR’s the number of new CPO’s imposed by the Court has continued to show a steady increase and has also surpassed pre lockdown levels. Orders can be made for 6 months to 3 years, 381 318 358 321 323 326 208 246 319 413 459 JSWR 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 JSWR Sept24 JSWR Oct24JSWR Nov24JSWR Dec24 JSWR Jan25 JSWR Feb25JSWR Mar25 MAKI B&C OLI H&L
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22 | P a g e therefore the number of CPO’s being supervised by the service is higher than those highlighted in the graph below. As of March 25, the service was supervising 276 orders. It should be noted that as well as an increase in numbers of CPO’s being imposed, the complexity of cases is also increasing with longer orders being imposed for individuals with multiple risks and needs being identified. With the introduction of our Performance Dashboard, we are now able to track breach rates of CPO’s by locality, which enables us to identify whether there is inconsistency in practice or if there is unmet needs in certain localities. This was relatively new data available to us and we will continue to monitor moving forward. Statutory Throughcare Those given certain types of custodial sentences must be involved in throughcare. Statutory, as opposed to voluntary throughcare has risen from 84% of all cases to 88% of all cases. The types of sentences requiring statutory throughcare are set out below. • Life Sentence. Argyll & Bute currently have 8 people in prison who are serving a life sentences with punishment elements ranging from 14 to 29 years. If released they will be on life licence. • Order of Lifelong Restriction. Argyll & Bute currently have 8 individuals who are sentenced to an Order of Lifelong Restriction. OLR’s are classed as indeterminate sentences and are imposed on people sentenced in the High Court for a serious violent offence (not including murder), serious sexual offending, or an offence which indicates a tendency to serious 0 100 200 300 No. of New CPO's imposed 0 50 100 150 MAKI B&C OLI H&L Total CPO Transfer CPO: orders successfully completed CPO: orders completed early discharge CPO: number of orders revoked due to review CPO: number of orders revoked due to breach CPO: number of orders completed
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23 | P a g e violent, sexual or life endangering offending. Specialist risk assessment reports are requested from the Risk Management Authority to assist the sentence planning and management of such cases within the prisons, and for consideration by the Parole Board. Those released by the Parole Board will be under the supervision and stringent risk management by Justice Social Work for life. • Extended Sentence. Argyll & Bute currently have 14 individuals who are serving extended sentences. An extended sentence combines a period in prison with a further set time of supervision in the community (the extension part). It is used to protect the public and can be given to offenders who have committed a sexual or violent crime; or abduction on indictment (more serious crime). Of the 14 individuals, the periods in prison range from 20 months to 14 years, with the average sentence length being 7 – 9 years, and the periods on supervision in the community ranging from 5 – 10 years. • Custody over 4 years. Within Argyll & Bute we currently have 16 individuals who are serving custodial sentences of 4 years or over who do not fall into the categories mentioned above. Sentence length ranges from 4 years to 12 years. In these cases, the individual will be eligible to apply for parole after serving half their sentence, and if not successful, their case will be reconsidered by the parole board on an annual basis, until the 6 months point prior to the end of their sentence. • Short Term Sex Offender licence. At present Argyll & Bute has 1 individual who will be subject to a short-term sex offender licence on release from custody. These Licences are for anyone convicted of a sexual offence serving sentences of more than 6 months in custody and they will be under the supervision of Justice Social Work until the expiry date of their sentence. They will also be subject to management by MAPPA when in the community. • Supervised Release Orders. At present there are 6 Argyll & Bute residents who are sentenced to custody with a Supervised Release Order. The Sheriff can in such cases impose an SRO at the point of sentence, meaning that the individual will be subject to a period of statutory supervision by justice social work following their release from custody for up to 12 months. Custodial sentences must be less than 4 years and the offences that the individual is convicted of cannot be sexual. For all individuals within custody that fall under statutory throughcare, staff attend ICM (sentence planning meetings) on an annual basis. In addition to this, those who are due for release will have additional prerelease ICM’s. All cases are also subject to Parole Board Hearings for which reports are required, at the parole qualifying date and any subsequent reviews of the case by Parole Board. This can also include attendance at Oral Hearings. At the end of March 25, we have 25 individuals subject to various statutory throughcare supervision in the community, ranging from life licence, STSOL, Parole and Supervised Release Orders. A breakdown of these can be produced for the next assurance report. Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements Justice Social Work saw a large increase in the number of MAPPA cases being managed during 2024/25, with an increase of 17 cases. This is the largest increase over a 4-year period, with 48 Registered Sex Offenders in the community. This in some way equates to several prison releases over the past year as well as an increase in the complexity of Community Payback Orders being imposed. During this period, we also managed our first, most serious, Category 3 MAPPA case (violent/other risk of serious harm offending).
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24 | P a g e The increase in workload and complexity of cases across all areas of Justice Social Work business during 24/25 has placed stressors and challenges on a small but committed staff group. It is anticipated that the needs of this client group will continue to grow with cuts t services and increased levels of inequality and poverty. There continues to be changes to practice because of policy initiatives and legislative changes from Scottish Government, often with the impact on community-based Justice Social Work Services being underestimated – i.e. Early release initiatives for short term prisoners, and planned changes for release for long term prisoners, planned changes to bail assessment and supervision and diversion during 2025/26. Community Justice In Argyll and Bute, during 2024-2025, the Community Justice Partnership focussed on creating an evidence base for the strategic and operational baseline, across the 4 national aims and 13 priority actions contained within the refreshed National Strategy for Community Justice. Whilst developing our draft local action plan, the Community Justice Partnership has implemented a range of local multi-agency engagement and activities across most of the national aims and actions. The Community Justice Plan 2024-2027 was published in Autumn 2025. The following key areas are offered within this CSWO report: Progress was made across all four national Community Justice Aims 1. Enhance intervention at the earliest opportunity by ensuring greater consistency, confidence in and awareness of services which support the use of direct measures and diversion from prosecution Following on from the work undertaken in 2023/24 by Argyll & Bute representatives from Community Justice and Alcohol and Drug Partnerships with Police Scotland (L Division and Criminal Justice Services Division, Healthcare & Interventions) Custody Suite representatives, the national roll out began in April 2025. A local group is established, led by Police Scotland, to progress identified improvements for our local Arrest Referral model. Alignment between this Community Justice group and the Health & Social Care Partnership Custody Improvement Group is underway to minimise duplication and enhance strategic and operational planning. 2. Ensure that robust and high-quality community interventions and public protection arrangements are consistently available across Scotland Argyll & Bute wide Electronic Monitoring numbers were unknown at a local level (until May 2024). Only those included as part of a community sentence could be identified. The application of this option presents geographical delivery challenges to those organisations responsible for fitting and monitoring, which may be one of the reasons for its underuse as a sentencing option. 3. Ensure that services are accessible and available to address the needs of individuals accused or convicted of an offence Third Sector Lomond & Argyll Advocacy Service (Community Justice Advocacy) delivered a pilot to support a rights-based approach for those leaving prison, an evaluation has been completed, and the Community Justice Partnership will review the learning during 2025-26. 4. Strengthen the leadership, engagement, and partnership working of local and national community justice partners
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25 | P a g e Argyll & Bute Community Justice Partnership continued to scope the realities of our collective ability to deliver improvements equitably across Argyll & Bute, this was consistently noted as a key challenge. However, progress was made through collaborative approaches with the Alcohol & Drugs, Violence Against Women and Employability Partnerships. Pragmatic improvement activity has been identified for implementation during 2024-2025. Despite the volume of work being undertaken there remains significant challenges. Of note: The current national community justice direction takes a general approach to populations however does not reflect the needs of delivering to remote, rural and island communities. Cognisance should be given to the Islands (Scotland) Act 2019 and the requirement for an Island Community Impact Assessment to ensure national policy and initiatives do not inadvertently adversely affect those communities. The delivery of the significant community justice improvements expected, alongside core funding and workforce challenges, is an area of concern that will be closely monitored by the Community Justice Partnership. Whilst there is undoubtedly a strong commitment to continuous improvement, how many we can deliver within the current context remains uncertain. Children & Families The Children and Families Management Team model aligns management, professional and clinical leadership and strengthens oversight of the services and the accountability of managers and staff. Unlike Adult Services in Argyll & Bute there is a clear ‘golden thread’ of Social Work responsibility and governance through to the CSWO. As senior managers are required to deputise for the CSWO they must be both qualified registered Social Workers and employed by the Local Authority. The service is underpinned and delivered in line with the Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) Framework and The Promise. There has been considerable investment in promoting a trauma informed approach. These developments are fully imbedded within multi-agency processes and strong relations with Police Scotland, Argyll & Bute Education Department, NHS and the Third Sector. The multi-agency Children and Young People Plan 2023-2026 continues to be the basis for development. Children & Families Social Work Last year’s CSWO report noted that recruitment and retention of staff in the Children and Families teams had deteriorated from a comparatively successful position in relation to neighbouring authorities to a position where some teams were operating at 50% capacity. This situation has deteriorated further across this year, due to a combination of a high level of vacancies and challenges attracting new recruits, particularly in Helensburgh, Dunoon and Oban Additionally high levels of absence, both short and long term, particularly in Dunoon, have added to the staffing pressures. This has seen team capacity fall as low as 20% in some areas. This issue is not based on available finance and both the Chief Executive of the Council and Chief Officer of the IJB have been clear maintaining the child protection service is imperative. The issues are absence, recruitment and retention.
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26 | P a g e A national shortage of qualified social workers has contributed to the profile of applicants for any vacancies becoming almost exclusively newly qualified staff. The authority has led the way in consideration of applications from social workers who have qualified in Scotland but who require employer sponsorship to obtain work visas. At present we have three social workers within the Area Teams who have been successfully recruited and supported through this process, and it is likely to be a continuing feature of our recruitment. The Area Teams have also encouraged local support staff to engage in further study and progress to Social Work qualification through the Grow Your Own programme, with four staff currently enrolled in the degree programme. Again, the benefits to retention of training locally based staff mean that ongoing support of this recruitment process will remain a key feature within Workforce Planning for the foreseeable future. In 2024 the Child Protection Committee commissioned a full audit of inter-agency child protection work, this included a file audit, views of children, staff survey and file reader survey. The findings in this audit highlighted some areas of strength in multi-agency practice and provided us with evidence of the areas where we needed to improve our practice. The areas for development have now been incorporated into the CPC work plan, which provides clear and measurable actions for improvement, the plan will be reviewed within the Performance and Quality Assurance sub-group and updates provided to the Child Protection Committee and Chief Officers Group. To ensure oversight and governance, a multi-agency child protection leadership group has been established to drive forward improvement activity chaired by the Head of Service (C&F, Justice). This group meets bi-monthly. A multi-agency child protection development programme has been established for front line managers which meets bi-monthly, and these groups have been very focused on working together to implement change and develop closer working relationship across all partner agencies. Since the last report the Child Protection Committee has hosted a series of locality-based practitioner events to share with the workforce the work of the groups outlined above and to include them in the ongoing improvement work. Theses workshops also shared the learning identified in a recent Learning Review. We held a child protection self-evaluation event with around 50 practitioners from across Argyll & Bute and from a wide range of organisations and Third Sector. The aim of the day was to seek the views and thoughts of front-line practitioners and to identify future development activity and child protection priorities. The Learning Review Panel oversaw a formal Learning Review last year and produced a full report with learning recommendations and an executive summary along with training pack for all CPC partners to use in the dissemination of learning within their respective organisations. The Learning Review panel has also commissioned a thematic learning review on three cases involving very young children, and work has begun on the planning of this. The priorities from the Learning Review and from the Senior Leadership group have been incorporated into the CPC work plan, and this single document includes all our shared priorities and improvement actions. We have appointed a Social Work Service Manager for Child Protection who will drive forward improvement in Social Work practice and develop robust systems for regular audit and self- evaluation.
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27 | P a g e We have devised a more robust system for scrutiny and quality assurance in our processes surrounding vulnerable children with locality managers meeting with service manager/senior managers three times weekly to review new referrals and oversee actions taken. We are in the process of increasing our capacity to implement the Scottish Child interview model, with a further two social workers and two team managers undertaking their training in the near future. This will greatly increase our capacity in working towards more of our joint interviews to be undertaken using this model. These changes have been implemented in the context where numbers of IRDs have increased threefold over the past year, with interestingly the same pattern being observed in the neighbouring authority of West Dunbartonshire, with whom we share the same Police Division (L). Our partner agencies SCRA and Police Scotland are also reporting a very significant increase in referrals. These trends will be examined in 2025/26 to establish possible factors that may be influencing this challenging increase in volume of concerns. It remains the case that there have been no Age of Criminal Responsibility Investigations (ACRi) over the course of the last year. We opened our first Bairns Hoose in Argyll and Bute. Bairns Hoose is a key action in the Scottish Government Keeping the Promise Implementation Plan and the values of Bairns Hoose are founded in Getting it Right for Every Child. The house will provide a child friendly setting for children who have been victims of or witness to abuse or violence, as well as children under the age of criminal responsibility whose behaviour has caused significant harm or abuse. In this setting children can be interviewed and supported in a trauma informed and respectful way with their views and rights respected. Interviews are currently taking place within the house, and we have appointed a Bairns Hoose social work co-ordinator who along with the service manager will develop systems for recovery support. We have secured Scottish Government funding to develop the house further to include more therapeutic support space and planning for this is underway. We will be working to explore how we can ensure such support is accessed by children and young people across Argyll & Bute It is recognised that due to the challenging staffing context and the need to ensure the significant and immediate risks associated with child protection activity were covered, it has taken longer to allocate other work. We have worked on a tiered approach where child protection is the top priority, statutory duties with timescales in legislation the second tier and duties without timescales the third tier. Even within that there has been a constant struggle to meet conditions set by Children’s Hearings and Courts on matters such as family contact. As mentioned on several occasions throughout this report what we have achieved has often been through the commitment of existing staff to work beyond hours and remits. Meeting the demands from the Scottish Children’s Reporters Administration for reports has been challenging. We are experiencing a large increase in referrals to SCRA, which in turn is leading increasing numbers of reports being requested from Social Work. One of the Social Work Service Managers is leading on liaison with SCRA to understand these underlying patterns and to reduce the numbers of late reports.
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28 | P a g e There is continued concern within the profession about the increasingly litigious nature of Children’s Hearings. This is being worked on locally to explore how we support staff, young people and their families in this setting. Legislative changes are likely however not enacted as yet. Services to children impacted by disability has been an area of pressure over 2024/25. Commissioned services for children with a disability across the nation have been under pressure from the drying up of non-statutory funding sources and difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff. These challenges accelerated in the aftermath of the lockdown period with many people leaving the social care sector. These pressures have directly affected commissioned day and overnight respite services for children and young people with disability here in Argyll and Bute with two voluntary organisations in the east of the County ceasing operations. We continue to provide direct support to families in Kintyre, through the council funded and staffed registered service Kintyre Network Centre, and to families on the Clyde area island of Bute through funding to our now sole commissioned service Achievement Bute. A procurement process was completed but did not identify any bidders for any configuration of provision across any part of Argyll. This year following discussion with individual families and with groups of families who have come together for mutual support, all funding previously committed to the commissioned services has been redistributed to families under Self-Directed Support as direct payments. Under Option 1 this has provided for the employment of PAs, improvements to family accommodation and surroundings, short breaks, online learning opportunities and equipment to improve the wellbeing of children and young people. In areas of Argyll where there had been no commissioned provision for many years, including Lochgilphead, Oban and Argyll's Hebridean islands, we had and continue to directly recruit sessional staff, and families have accessed through this provision support under Options 2 and 3, or in some cases across Argyll with a combination of different supports, Option 4. In 25/26 we plan to widen the availability of Options 2,3 and 4 through the recruitment of sessional staff in every local area. Work is continuing with colleagues in adult services to review supports to Parent Carers and have jointly commissioned a Parent Carers Survey to identify the priorities of families across the area. Following the reporting of the findings due in 25/26 we plan to co-create new guidance, advice and procedures to facilitate access to information and early supports in the community, and improve assessment processes, the speed and equality of distribution of resources. Following this consultation exercise consideration will be given to further procurement and developments. Residential Houses In previous CSWO reports we noted a very challenging inspection of one the Children’s Houses, with a subsequent report in 2024 that recognised the improvements. This has been further strengthened with the 2025 unannounced Care Inspectorate inspection commending the service for continued service improvements, along with recognition for the team of their professional and therapeutic approach to care planning and positive outcomes. Improvements to the homely and nurturing environment were recognised along with the positive impact that specialist training had in achieving positive destinations for the young people who had been supported to transition to independent living arrangements within the local community. Connection with the Through Care and After Care has been strengthened. The previously noted dip in morale caused by the previous care inspectorate report has since been replaced with a new sense of purpose, enthusiasm and aspirations for future progress to come.
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29 | P a g e In recognition of the previously reported challenges in staffing the Children’s Houses, a review of the job description and grading of staff was carried out. There was a greater recognition and expectation of the therapeutic potential of residential staff. Moving the title from Social Care Worker to Residential Child Care Practitioner. The role was also upgraded. Since these changes qualified Social Workers and those with experience in educational settings have been recruited to become house staff. This range of cross-sector knowledge being embedded within our Children’s Houses continues to build the skill base to support and strengthen future models of care. Having a suitably qualified workforce we can consider effective and early intervention in the community to target support to families and provide a dynamic response to young people whose needs may be more complex. All our staff teams within the Houses have been trained in Therapeutic Theories by CALM, along with Therapeutic Care Giving training facilitated by CAHMS care experienced team. There continues to be progress in the number of practitioners trained in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) - which is a therapeutic approach that focuses on strengthening connections and attachment between children, young people, and their caregivers, particularly those who have experienced developmental trauma. This therapeutic approach has been successful within the children’s houses not only for improving the outcomes for some of our hardest to reach young people, but also in developing a culture of respect and professionalism amongst the practitioners. High-Cost External Placements The number of children being looked after in high-cost external placements continues to be of concern. While the numbers are small the financial impact on the whole IJB budget cannot be underemphasised when individual placements are costing between £250k and £500k per year each. Placements are jointly funded by Education and Social Work. As such there is very tight communication between the Head of Children’s Services and the two Heads of Education. Tightening the aims of placements is going to be necessary to set the expectations about purpose. Planning for moving back to Argyll & Bute provision requires to begin before the external placement is agreed. In some instances, it has been necessary to question the quality of care our young people are getting in such placements. It does also need to be recognised that the Local Authority is not always in control of such placements. Where the Children’s Hearing system or Courts are involved, they make the final decision, and it is for the HSCP / Council to provide. Neither Court nor Children’s Hearing have any requirement to consider cost. The Council’s internal audit team have been asked by Social Work and Education to examine external placements, considering how we can improve governance and processes. In parallel our senior resource manager has been asked to carry out a review of the ‘models of care’ from support at home, foster care, kinship care and internal residential houses. How can we care for our young people here with less reliance on high-cost external out of area placements. In the summer of 2024, the Scottish Government made the decision that young offenders under 18 years old would no longer be accommodated in prisons but should be sent to children’s secure units. There can be no argument against the move away from incarcerating vulnerable young people in prisons, however the move has caused significant difficulty in the secure network, with beds being kept of those coming through the Court system. This is leaving challenges in finding beds for those ‘secured’ through children’s legislation and processes. Work is ongoing at a national level to consider ways to increase the number of placements in the secure estate.
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30 | P a g e Unusually Argyll & Bute had five young people in a secure setting at one time or other over the course of this reporting period. In most years there has been no young people or perhaps one individual. Through Care and After Care Services (TCAC) Figures published by CELCIS in 2025 indicate that 89% of young people eligible for Through Care and After Care in Argyll & Bute are in receipt of a service. Given the Scottish average is 48%, this is a remarkable figure. Central to the approach taken by TCAC is ensuring positive, trusted, and sustained relationships with the young people we support. The team become involved with young people from the age of 16 years onwards. The team continue to support 110 young people at different stages of their transition to adulthood and independence, with 68% in the age range 16-20 years. The number of young people supported at age 21 – 24 remains relatively static, with one young person continuing to be supported at age 25. The most common accommodation for our young people is their own tenancies, which indicates a good level of joint working with Argyll & Bute Housing Service and the housing associations. While this equates to only 32% of the total population of care leavers, there were a number of young people who do not require a tenancy due to their circumstances e.g. those who remain in continuing care, kinship arrangements, foster care, children’s houses, supported lodgings, living with family, resettlement tenancies and student accommodation. While the above figures are positive it is still the case that there are several care leavers ‘stuck’ in other resources awaiting access to a tenancy. Argyll & Bute remains in a housing crisis. 19%, young people were settled in private rented accommodation, in temporary tenancies/homeless accommodation, with 1 young person in prison. Work has been ongoing throughout the year with local Housing Associations to develop a stepdown model, where young people can move into satellite flats to gain experience of living independently without having the full responsibility of managing their own tenancy. Flats have been established in Helensburgh and Oban, and it is hoped that this model will be further rolled out to Dunoon in the coming year. A programme of work aimed at continuous improvement in delivering high quality services was developed during 2024 – 25 which includes how we capture relevant data on the needs and the voices of our care leavers. Initial stages of this work highlights need ranging from accommodation, mental health, addictions, trauma, offending behaviour, attachment disorders and varying degrees of neurodiversity. Often TCAC staff are the young people’s only point of contact and support, and they need to be all things to all people. This is a challenging area of work, often dealing with crisis and young people who are living chaotic lives. Transitions to independence is difficult for any young person and there is a clear sense that the TCAC never give up on their young people, even though at times the young people push the support away. Identifying and planning for multiagency working to meet these needs is crucial and a key area for development moving forward into 2025-26. The scale of Argyll & Bute’s population is of benefit in this instance as it is hard for young people to get ‘lost’ as could happen in urban settings. Balancing young people’s right to continuing care within the context of the high demand for placements for younger children continues to cause difficulties. During 2024-25, Argyll & Bute faced a judicial review of the right to continuing care in one of our Children’s Houses when a young person was also resident in student accommodation. The complexities and implications of this judgement
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31 | P a g e could have had serious consequences for our care sector across Scotland. Whilst this case did not progress, it highlighted the challenges inherent in balancing the conflicts between the continuing care legislation, adequate resource provision, scarcity of available placements and the financial implications of continuing care. There is a need to look further at financial modelling to ensure that Continuing Care and all aspects of transitions are sufficiently resourced to ensure that the rights of care leavers are upheld. Through care and after care is vital in freeing space in our residential houses and allowing the development of these facilities to halt the loss of Argyll & Bute’s children into high- cost external placements. Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) Previous reports noted the challenges of meeting the requirements of the UK Home Office mandatory National Transfer Scheme (NTS) for UASC. Significant work has taken place in the last year involving staff from the Council, Through Care and After Care, Residential Houses and Family Placement team. The outcome of this has been an exemplary service where no matter the young person’s individual circumstances, trauma, ethnicity or pressures on the system they have been welcomed into our care. Communities throughout the area have been equally welcoming. During the year 2024/25 30 young people were supported, the majority of whom are aged 16+. We have one young person who is under the age of 16; 12 young people aged between 16 – 18, with the remaining 17 young people aged over 18. Of concern is the length of time taken for decisions regarding asylum status to be reached and the increasing number of claims that are being rejected. 15 of our young people are still awaiting their asylum claim to be heard, with 10 of those waiting for periods between 1 – 5 years for their claims to be progressed. This is not only causing high levels of anxiety for our young people but is also placing a high level of demand on our housing and resource provision as the young people cannot move on into their own tenancies until leave to remain is granted, thus limiting our ability to accommodate new arrivals when required. Once a young person reaches their 18th birthday the financial support from the Home Office drops dramatically and the young person no longer counts towards our ‘quota’ of 14 UASC. Three years ago, the number of UASC we were looking after was under 10 and this has now trebled. As mentioned, finance for those under 18 years old from the Home Office is adequate, for those over 18 years old it is not. Despite the financial challenges finding accommodation is becoming the bigger issue. In addition to young people arriving in Argyll & Bute through the NTS, we have seen an increase in spontaneous arrivals during the year 24/25 (6 young people) all of whom have been subjected to Human Trafficking and have experienced high levels of trauma. These are young people who are claiming asylum for the first time in Argyll & Bute as opposed to arriving in Kent. Work is ongoing in partnership with our CAMHS service to ensure that services are available to best meet the impact of war, conflict, separation, death and trauma experienced by our young people. Police Scotland are closely involved when there are issues of exploitation. Family Placement Team Recruitment of foster carers is exceptionally challenging. It is national issue and the situation in Argyll a& Bute mirrors the national picture. We recruited and approved only 1 new fostering household in the past year, others who enquired withdrew for a variety of reasons. Over the same period 4 households withdraw from fostering. 3 of those were planned withdrawals following successfully adopting the child/children in their care. Nevertheless, during the period covered by
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32 | P a g e this report, we saw a nett decrease in the number of foster carers available to look after our children. The Scottish Government’s national recruitment campaign is welcomed. At the time of writing the campaign had unfortunately not resulted in any new foster carers coming forward. Again Argyll & Bute is not alone in seeing this outcome to local and national campaigns. There were 4 Argyll & Bute children granted Adoption Orders, all now living with adoptive parents and remaining within Argyll & Bute. Additionally, local adopters were matched with 4 children from out with this area, who have also now been granted Adoption Orders. We have 6 couples approved as Adopters who are in various stages of the process. We continue to get more inquiries from prospective adopters than people interested in fostering, but yet again it would appear this mirrors the national picture. Of the 23 children and young people across our 19 active fostering households, there are 11 who are secure in permanent foster care; 3 more who are remaining in continuing care arrangements and 2 unaccompanied asylum seeking children. This does leave a sparse resource for emergency or short- term placements. Continuing care arrangements with previous foster or kinship carers has been strengthened with the decision to retain a supervising social worker from the family placement team to work alongside the carers post their conversion to continuing care providers, offering support to them in this new role of helping the young person transition to independence when ready. This will include annual reviews, which will ensure opportunities are created to keep plans on track. We currently have 3 young people in continuing care in kinship, and 3 with previous foster carers, out of a total of 10 continuing care arrangements. Kinship has seen a lot of development work and a rethink by the Scottish Government, who updated their Guidance in this area of work. To that end we have updated our own policy and procedures and taken most of the work associated with kinship into the family placement team. This has led to a quicker initial assessment being carried out when children go to stay with kin, as well as a smoother transition from Interim to Permanent kinship arrangements, where this is identified as the legal route to permanence for a child. Kinship Carers have enjoyed opportunities to meet up with foster carers and adopters at joint events and have found commonality with them that has meant they have benefited from peer support as well as support from the kinship service. Going forward, we will develop a clearer review process for kinship carers that will ensure we know the circumstances of all kinship carers and the children they care for, including those no longer involved with a child’s social worker. We are soon to introduce Family Group Decision Making, that will make the initial exploration of kinship carers more robust and allow a full discussion including family members who can’t take on the care of a child full time, but who can support another family member to do so. It is hoped that this approach will mean kinship care becomes a robust, secure arrangement for more children where they cannot remain with their birth parents. Another area of new work for the family placement team will be the assessment, training, support and review of Supported Lodgings providers. It is hoped that this will increase the options for young people leaving Care, and ensure they successfully enter the adult world with the support they need still in place. This will be a joint venture with the Through Care and After Care team, who already work alongside family placement social workers where a young person has elected Continuing Care in a family setting.
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33 | P a g e Service Quality and Performance Statistical Data 2024/25. A sample of the available data is presented here to provide an overview of Social Work and Social Care activity during the reporting period of 2024/2025. This is compared with the previous year to offer context for performance and activity trends. The transition from CareFirst to Eclipse in June 2023 initially impacted the consistency of year-on-year comparisons for some data elements. Whilst we now have data spanning nearly two years within the Eclipse system, caution is advised when interpreting trends, particularly for data elements most affected during the early stages of implementation. However, it is evident that staff confidence and familiarity with Eclipse have improved over time, and this is reflected in the increased activity levels compared to the initial months following the system’s introduction. Note, the ECLIPSE Care Management System was rolled out across both Adults and Children & Families Social Care Services but also across a range of Community Health services such as Physiotherapy, District Nursing, and Occupational Therapy, and as such there are now over 34000 client records on the Live ECLIPSE system across Argyll and Bute, with new 4501 records created in 2024/25 alone. Children & Families Services Social Work Contacts In 2024/25, there were 2362 Concern Reports worklists started for children, compared to 1258 in 2023/24. This is an increase of 1104, which equates to an 87% increase. In 2024/25, the number of Concern Reports received peaked at 262 in January 2025. This is congruent with reports of increased SCRA referrals noted previously in this report. It requires to be recognised this 87% increase in Concern Reports is taking place at a time when teams are depleted. The monthly average for 2024/25 was 197 Concern Reports, while in 2023/24 the average was 126. (Data ECLIPSE Activity Dashboards 2023/24 & 2024/25) Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 2023/24 50 131 183 170 139 132 56 122 155 120 2024/25 159 185 183 175 165 205 203 203 206 262 220 196 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Number of Child Concern Reports by Month and Year
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34 | P a g e Child Protection Monthly numbers of children on the Child Protection Register for 2024/25 indicates an overall increase in activity for 2024/25 to date, with an average monthly figure of 36.6 compared to 32.8 for the full year 2023/24 — a rise of 12%. Monthly figures for February and March 2025 (47 and 48 respectively) are notably higher than the same months in 2024. CPR engagement with large or complex family groups may also impact numbers reported. (Data ECLIPSE Dashboards 2023/24 & 2024/25) Care Experienced Children Trend analysis across the year identifies a stable pattern for 2024/25, with March 2025 recording 149 compared to April 2024 at 157; a 5% decrease across the reporting period. The overall average monthly number of care experienced children remains largely consistent at 152 for 2024/25, compared to 153 for 2023/24, suggesting stabilisation following earlier fluctuations. The slight ‘decrease’ noted will be associated with data tidy up from legacy reporting, rather than any actual decrease in service delivery. (Data Dashboards 2023/24 & 2024/25) Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 2023/24 42 36 34 34 36 31 31 32 32 29 27 29 2024/25 30 37 31 34 37 34 32 34 35 40 47 48 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Number of Children on the Child Protection Register by Month and Year Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 2023/24 140 144 141 145 146 149 150 153 155 158 161 159 2024/25 157 145 144 148 152 149 149 144 145 143 148 149 125 130 135 140 145 150 155 160 165 Number of Care Experienced Children by Month and Year
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35 | P a g e Adult Services Social Work Contacts Since the Eclipse launch, individual service areas—such as Adult Support and Protection and Telecare—have developed and implemented separate referral pathways. This change in process means that not all referrals are now recorded via the original Eclipse adult referral worklist, which may affect trend visibility and comparability with previous years. Volumes began to stabilise in the latter part of 2024/25, with December through February showing modest increases compared to the same period in the previous year. This period aligns with typical winter pressures. However, a further reduction in March 2025 (82 contacts) was observed, suggesting ongoing shifts in either referral behaviour or recording practices. Given the evolving structure of referral pathways, these figures should be interpreted with caution. (Data Dashboards 2023/24 & 2024/25) In 2024/25, the total Adult Assessments started was 1584, with an average of 132 per month and a peak of 158 noted in Jul 2024. This is an increase on 2023/24, where 1270 Adult Assessments were started and a monthly average of 127 per month was noted. Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 2023/24 260 225 177 167 128 158 102 146 122 129 2024/25 113 114 85 148 107 105 123 104 113 143 125 82 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Adult Social Care Referrals by Month and Year Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 2023/24 103 140 144 115 107 129 85 166 165 116 2024/25 156 119 134 158 141 119 116 135 96 138 127 145 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 Adult Assessments by Month and Year
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36 | P a g e (Data Dashboards 2023/24 & 2024/25) In 2024/25, the total Adult Reviews started was 1425, with an average of 119 per month and a peak of 144 was noted in Jan 2025. This is a significant increase on 2023/24, where 749 Adult Assessments were started and a monthly average of 75 per month was noted. The trend across 2024/25 suggests this is likely to increase as more service users reach a care review point in their care journey. Care at Home The average monthly number of adults in receipt of Care at Home for 2024/25 (1368) reflects a marginal 1% decrease compared to 2023/24 (1382), indicating a continued but slowing downward trend. Activity remained relatively stable from August 2024 onwards, with modest increases through to March 2025 (1376). This levelling-off may suggest a more consistent service response following earlier reductions and seasonal pressures. (Data Dashboards 2023/24 & 2024/25) Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 2023/24 50 55 55 71 66 84 76 114 83 95 2024/25 99 108 90 127 113 124 132 124 97 144 126 141 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 Adult Reviews by Month and Year Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Avrg Total 2023/24 1411 1421 1413 1401 1407 1381 1386 1379 1350 1345 1347 1346 1382 Total 2024/25 1354 1344 1344 1368 1380 1365 1379 1388 1378 1374 1360 1376 1368 1300 1320 1340 1360 1380 1400 1420 1440 Number of Adults in Receipt of Care at Home
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37 | P a g e Residential Care With regards to the average number of people in residential care for 2024/25 (610), there is a slight decrease of 1% compared to 2023/24 (618). Trend analysis for 2024/25 shows relative stability across the year, with a steady rise in monthly figures from October through to March, reaching a high of 640. This pattern may reflect seasonal pressures and continued use of interim care home placements to manage demand, particularly during the winter period. (Data Dashboards 2023/24 & 2024/25) Delayed Discharge Delayed discharge data for April to March 2024/25 notes consistent monthly average (47) against data for the previous year 2023/24 (45). The highest number of delays is noted in 2024/25 in May (65), this is 18% higher than 2023/24 peak noted in February 2024 (55). (Data Dashboards 2022/23 & 2023/24) Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 2023/24 617 622 617 622 626 634 615 617 593 594 635 623 2024/25 607 600 602 587 590 585 628 626 629 608 621 640 550 560 570 580 590 600 610 620 630 640 650 Number of People in a Care Home by Month and Year Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 2023/24 47 49 44 35 43 36 47 45 43 50 55 40 2024/25 42 65 53 62 52 33 54 47 34 41 46 36 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Delayed Discharges by Month and Year
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38 | P a g e Average Bed Days data across both years notes an overall increase of 9% with (664) in 2024/25 against previous year (610). For the most part the increase bed day trends for 2024/25 is associated with an increase in the numbers of delays in the month. Nov 2024/25 notes the highest number of bed days (881), this is a 1% increase against 2023/24 peak (887) noted for October 2023/24. (Data Dashboards 2023/24 & 2024/25 Delayed discharge is not a statutory Social Work responsibility however these statistics are included as many of those delayed in hospital are there due to awaiting community or social care assessments. Delayed discharge statistics are indicative of the pressures on care in our communities. Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 2023/24 487 672 561 568 679 610 887 598 577 628 547 501 2024/25 586 608 796 712 561 499 822 881 661 632 578 630 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 Number of Delayed Discharge Bed Days in the Month by Year
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39 | P a g e 4. Resources In Argyll and Bute the entirety of Social Work and Social Care are delegated to the Health and Social Care Partnership. As such the financial resources for Social Work and Social Care are intrinsically intertwined with the overall HSCP position. The financial year 2024-25 was challenging and the HSCP overspent its budget, this mainly related to adult social care due to increased demand and costs for care at home and residential care for older people. Overall financial performance is mixed. The HSCP has operated within the resources available to it and still has a small balance of general reserves at the year end. However, it overspent its Adult Social Care budget by £2.1m and has largely funded this using non-recurring savings from the Strathclyde Pension Fund. Additionally, NHS spend in the year was supported using £4.2m of general reserves, as planned in the budget. Most HSCPs are facing similar challenges at present. Service Actual £000 Budget £000 Variance £000 % Variance COUNCIL SERVICES TOTAL 95,855 93,859 (1,996) (2.1%) HEALTH SERVICES TOTAL 281,252 281,497 245 0.1% GRAND TOTAL 377,107 375,356 (1,751) (0.5%) Additional Allocation of Pension Fund Savings 1,751 Year End Balance 377,107 377,107 0 0% The overall HSCP budget for 2024-25 included a savings target of £6.6m. During the year £5.1m or 77% of the target was delivered. The demographic change facing Argyll & Bute is significant, the number of older adults is increasing and projected to do so through to the 2040’s whilst at the same time the working age population is reducing. This is resulting in increased demand for most health and care services. It is also resulting in on-going staff recruitment and retention challenges which in turn are resulting in increased costs as the HSCP has filled service gaps by employing agency workers at increasing scale. Looking ahead, the HSCP cannot continue to overspend its budget as its reserves are now very limited and non-recurring savings, that funded the overspend noted above, are not available in 2026/27. Unless substantial investment from government in social services is forthcoming the HSCP expects to have to make substantial cost savings across several of its services. Given the years of savings which precede the period of this report further savings in the years to come will inevitably impact core statutory services.
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40 | P a g e The annual accounts and publicly available financial reports provided to the IJB outline the financial challenges in more detail. Similarly, reports published by Audit Scotland and others highlight the long-term financial challenge associated with demographic change.
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41 | P a g e 5. Workforce The Social Work and Social Care workforce are by far our biggest asset. Without their commitment and hard work the people of Argyll and Bute would not be receiving the standard of services they currently do. Throughout this report there is mention of staffing difficulties ranging from a Children and Families team operating at 20% of established staffing levels through to a Mental Health Officer post that was re-advertised 11 times. The only way to partially plug these gaps has been, in some instances, by deploying agency staff. At the same time such an approach is adding to the financial woes of the organisation. Yet they are filling essential statutory roles we are required to provide. In taking a ‘deep dive’ into the patterns across one area, Children and Families, it is also evident that absence, both short and long term, is as big an issue as vacancies. It is worthy of note that while all aspects of Social Work have struggled with recruitment there is an emerging trend of staff leaving certain positions within the profession in favour of others. In children’s services it is easier to recruit to specialist teams such as the Family Placement Team or Through Care and After Care than the general area team. Recruitment to Justice is generally easier. There is no doubt whatsoever that staffing remains the single biggest constraint on maintaining current services never mind developing new ones. It may sound glib however it is worth repeating currently we do not have the people to look after the people. The situation we find ourselves in is unsustainable. Argyll & Bute is not unique however our huge remote geography is adding to the challenges. The British Association of Social Work (BASW) examined the situation in Scotland. They reported: • 25% of Social Workers leave the profession within 6 years of qualifying • 19% of the profession is over 55 years old • 82% of the profession is female • 8-9% vacancy rate across the elements of the profession employed in the public sector. National surveys of staff reveal some of the pressures lying behind the workforce issues. This year’s annual survey of CSWOs by Social Work Scotland identified key themes: • Widespread recruitment, retention and aging workforce issues. All 32 local authority CSWOs confirmed these persistent challenges. An aging workforce was reported to compound the recruitment pressures as experienced staff are lost to the profession • Unsustainable workloads and role capacity constraints. High case loads and workforce shortages leave little room for staff development or systemic improvements. CSWOs themselves having to get involved in complex case work. • CSWO role ‘in crisis’. 97% of CSWOs reporting working significantly beyond their contracted hours. Often beyond 10 hours extra per week. Unlike health professional leads, CSWOs are carrying out their professional leadership role alongside operational management duties. • Resource limitations and structural challenges. Budgets pressures are an incessant pressure. Training, mentoring and systemic development are not taking place. • Mental wellbeing concerns. The high stress levels and unsustainable expectations underscores a need to protect staff.
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42 | P a g e Unison published a report “Care Management On It’s Knees” in 2024. Their members reported concerns about • Budget driven decision making leading to ‘tick box’ assessment approaches rather than needs led care. • Chronic understaffing resulting in a dominance of reactive case management rather than pro-active. • High turnover rates and difficulty in in filling vacancies. • Staff concerned there is a focus on structural changes rather than the core issue of funding and resourcing being addressed. Local authorities have responded in various ways to these challenges. Some, such as Glasgow, simply pay more, particularly at the higher end of the wage scale. Clearly an attempt to entice experienced workers to stay or come to the city. This approach however does result in vacancies being created elsewhere in the local government system. BASW simply concluded their study of the workforce by stating, “Given the difficulty in recruiting and retaining Social Workers, the profession must be made more attractive to join and remain in.” They continue, “Social Work pay and conditions lag behind many other public services. This becomes particularly clear when local authority employees work side by side with better paid NHS colleagues in integrated settings. We effectively have a two-tier workforce, with significantly better terms and conditions for NHS employees.” Later in their paper they argue for a return to national pay and conditions for Social Work staff. As noted in last year’s report the potential to even the Social Work and Social Care playing field amongst Local Authorities should also be considered. It is to be wondered if those staff working in our remote and island areas would benefit from the equivalent of the ‘distant islands allowance’ enjoyed in Comhairle Nan Eilan Siar, Orkney and Shetland. The island-based staff in Argyll & Bute are not treated equally to those based in other Scottish islands. Despite these hurdles to progress we have had some successes. Following the review of job descriptions of Social Work Team Managers and Social Work Assistants, including an upgrading in both instances, recruitment to both roles has improved. In the case of Social Work Assistants at times there are 10s of applicants for single posts. As noted earlier there is consideration to instituting the role of Advanced Practitioner for certain roles such as MHO or SCIM child protection staff. Work continues to develop multiple pathways to support staff in paraprofessional roles to undertake formal Social Work training. Enquiry sessions were held for staff in 2024 to offer a wider understanding of routes to becoming a qualified Social Worker across the specialisms. These sessions recruited 4 staff onto the Open University’s BA Hons Social Work Programme funded by the Council’s Social Work Training Board. The anticipated Graduation date for these employees is November 2025. Four of a cohort of six employee’s sponsored on the BA Hons Social Work and PGDip Social Work in 2022/23 are due to graduate between June 2025 and November 2025. Over the course of the next year the model of graduate apprenticeships will be considered.
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43 | P a g e While there has been some success in recruiting staff from oversees the requirement for such recruits includes proving that their qualifications have an equivalency to UK ones, and as such they can be registered with the SSSC. This can prove somewhat torturous. For example, the candidate is required to provide a full translation from their native language into English of their course work and placement activity. Where candidates from overseas already have SSSC registration Argyll & Bute is one of only a few local authorities who will sponsor the person to achieve a work visa. This has been a successful recruitment route. The bulk of the Social Work posts being filled continue to be with Newly Qualified Social Workers. The Scottish Social Services Council have now formalised a protected year for any NQSW entering the profession. This is of course welcomed, and it is recognised this will have long term benefits. Nevertheless, the protected year does add to the workload of supervisors and managers. NQSW cannot practice fully in child or adult protection. As highlighted in the previous year’s report, in the research commissioned by Social Work Scotland, titled ‘Setting the Bar’, the number one reason given for leaving the profession was ‘paperwork’. The initial introduction of the Eclipse system undoubtedly added to frustrations about paperwork and bureaucracy. It has been necessary to invest significant administrative, social work and development team time in refining this system. It is taking far longer than would have been hoped however there are some early signs of improvement. It cannot be reported yet that Eclipse is reducing paperwork, however it is still the vision that it will. During 2024/25 local authorities in Scotland began to tentatively introduce an AI based programme called Magic Notes. Magic Notes has an ability to record meetings and almost immediately produce minutes and action plans, thus reducing the time professional staff spend on this. Argyll & Bute are aiming to introduce Magic Notes over the next year, with an initial concentration on Child Protection processes. As mentioned earlier in this report, the Health & Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 came into force. It has certainly caused a great deal of activity within health circles. The Act does not cover Social Work staff, however, does cover registered services. While it is early days, the main impact of the Act has been to cause more work on producing reports. This is particularly frustrating when the Care Inspectorate who monitor all regulated services already reference staffing in their reports. There are several issues which have moved little in the last few years and for the sake of completeness are repeated: • The rates of pay for many Social Care staff do not match those that can be obtained in the hospitality and leisure industries in Argyll and Bute. It continues to pay more to clean distilleries and hotels than it does to care for people. In areas of near full employment such as, for example, Islay these problems are particularly acute. While the overall recent cost to the Scottish Government of supporting Social Care rates of pay of some £240m appears large the actual impact on the pay packet of individual staff is relatively minimal and the impact of improving the staffing situation negligible. • There remains uncertainty and concern amongst Justice Social Workers about the enhanced vetting required to use the ViSOR system. Justice staff and their administrative support staff must undergo vetting beyond that of other Social Work employees. There is a sense the demands to vet the individual more deeply and to vet their wider family and loved ones is unacceptably intrusive on their right to privacy. This could impact recruitment and retention
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44 | P a g e into Justice roles. A new system, MAPPs is being developed, however that will not change the vetting issues. Fortunately, we do note Justice is an area of practice where we have not had significant difficulty recently in attracting staff. • Elements of Scottish Government funding remain problematic. Short-term ring-fenced grants leave us attempting to recruit to fixed term contracts and in some case part time fixed term contracts. Relatively small discrete grants are being made, yet the aim is for systemic change. The lack of assurance about the recurring or non-recurring nature of these grants leaves significant uncertainty. The grant applications and subsequent reporting can be onerous and often it is Heads of Service who require to carry out these tasks. Nevertheless, for the purpose of balance it is only because of such a grant that Argyll & Bute has been able to push ahead with the Bairns Hoose and develop a sector leading resource. Scottish Government funders have been supportive and flexible throughout. • In Argyll and Bute there are the added complications of a lack of affordable housing and a relatively expensive cost of living particularly in our most remote and island areas. Fuel poverty is high in our area. For those living on islands the unreliability of ferry links, which have continued to be troublesome this last year, are adding to the uncertainty of life in general and the inconsistency of services.
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45 | P a g e 6. CONCLUSION In Argyll and Bute, the delivery of Social Work services in 2024/25 has continued to reflect the unique geography, demography, and diversity of our communities. From our island populations to rural towns, our teams have worked with professionalism and compassion to uphold the rights, safety, and wellbeing of children, adults, and families. This year has brought continued pressures: recruitment and retention remain particularly acute in rural and island areas, workforce wellbeing is an ongoing concern, and the complexity of need—for example around mental health, substance use, and social isolation—has deepened. Budgets are as tight now than they have ever been. Yet despite these challenges, our staff have delivered vital statutory and preventative services, supported recovery and independence, and responded to risk with skill and care. Development of services has continued, ranging from refurbishment of a care home in Tiree to the development of a Bairns Hoose service. It is imperative that we are honest and transparent with our communities. The financial context in Argyll and Bute is increasingly constrained. Budgets are tighter than ever, and as we look ahead to 2025/26, the one-off or reserve funds that have previously helped bridge service pressures will no longer be available. This creates a stark reality: we are now operating in a system where long- standing demand pressures are rising, but capacity to respond is shrinking. A different relationship with communities requires to be forged. We are already facing significant workforce constraints, with unfilled posts in key statutory services and increasing difficulty attracting and retaining skilled professionals across our large and diverse geography. The impact of demographic change in Argyll and Bute—an ageing population, population decline in some areas and increasing complexity of need—means that demand is only expected to intensify in the years ahead. Key national developments, including implementation of the Health & Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 or proposed Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025, require careful navigation to ensure local knowledge, professional leadership, and community relationships are not lost. Ensuring compliance with the requirements and essence of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2019. In Argyll and Bute, strong partnership working with health, education, housing, police and the third sector remains essential to sustaining person-centred, integrated support. No amount of political will or policy aspiration will deliver meaningful outcomes without long-term, secure investment in both services and the people who deliver them. We need a collective national and local commitment to sustained funding, realistic workforce planning, and a genuine understanding of the pressures on front-line professionals. As Chief Social Work Officer for Argyll and Bute, I remain committed to working openly with partners, elected members, and communities to ensure that, even within these limitations, we continue to deliver safe, ethical, and rights-based support. But we must be clear-eyed: the sustainability of Social Work and Social Care services is now in question without urgent structural and financial reform. I want to finish by again recognising the extraordinary commitment of our workforce, many of whom go above and beyond in difficult circumstances every day. Their dedication has sustained services during a time of national reform and local pressure.
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46 | P a g e David Gibson Chief Social Work Officer Head of Children, Families & Justice Argyll & Bute Health & Social Care Partnership Kilmory Lochgilphead Argyll PA31 8RT Daibhidh MacGileabairt Àrd-Oifigear Obair shòisealta Ceannard Cloinne, Theaghlaichean & Ceartais Com-pàirteachas Slàinte agus Cùram Sòisealta Earra Ghàidheal is Bhòid Chille Mhoire Ceann Loch Gilb Earra Gàidheal