Critical Staffing Levels in Children & Families Social Work Service
Argyll and Bute Council · 12 May 2026
Back to Argyll and Bute HSCP Clinical and Care Governance Committee — 12 May 2026 and its agenda
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1 Clinical and Care Governance Committee Date of Meeting: 12th May 2026 Title of Report: Critical Staffing Levels in Children & Families Social Work Service Presented by: Shona Williams, Senior Manager Children, Families & Justice Services/ Acting Chief Social Work Officer The Clinical and Care Governance Committee is asked to: • NOTE the critical and escalating statutory and governance risks within Children & Families Social Work, particularly Child Protection. • NOTE the severe operational and senior leadership capacity pressures currently affecting assurance. • SUPPORT continued prioritisation of statutory Child Protection and statutory work above all other activity and note the impact of this prioritisation on non-statutory delivery. • ENDORSE the implementation of a time-limited enhanced risk control and assurance framework (including daily operational triage, and targeted management oversight of the highest-risk cases) until capacity stabilises. • SUPPORT urgent workforce actions to protect statutory Child Protection delivery in high-risk localities. • NOTE a time-limited operational recovery plan (Appendix 1) and agree that progress updates will be provided to the Committee at each meeting until risk is reduced. • NOTE that external transparency actions are in progress with the Care Inspectorate Link Inspector and National Social Work Agency 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report provides an update on the current critical staffing position within Children & Families Social Work Service. The service is currently operating under critical and sustained pressure arising from a prolonged and endemic mismatch between statutory demand, workforce capacity and leadership resilience. Despite ongoing mitigation and recovery activity, the cumulative impact of these pressures has reached a point where the Service cannot currently provide assurance that statutory Child Protection duties are being delivered in a safe, sustainable and resilient manner, particularly within high-risk localities.
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2 While core statutory activity continues and safeguarding work remains prioritised, this is being achieved through exceptional and unsustainable measures, including extended working hours, reduced management headroom and reliance on a small number of experienced practitioners and one senior manager. This position represents a significant organisational and statutory risk. 2. RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended that the Committee • Notes the critical and escalating statutory and governance risks within Children & Families Social Work, particularly Child Protection. • Notes the severe operational and senior leadership capacity pressures currently affecting assurance. • Supports the continued prioritisation of statutory Child Protection and statutory work above all other activity and note the impact of this prioritisation on non-statutory delivery. • Endorses the implementation of a time-limited enhanced risk control and assurance framework (including daily operational triage, and targeted management oversight of the highest-risk cases) until capacity stabilises. • Supports the urgent workforce actions to protect statutory Child Protection delivery in high-risk localities. • Notes a time-limited operational recovery plan (Appendix 1) and agree that progress updates will be provided to the Committee at each meeting until risk is reduced. • Note that external transparency actions are in progress with the Care Inspectorate Link Inspector and National Social Work Agency 3. DETAIL OF REPORT Current Service Pressures Children & Families Social Work continues to experience significant operational pressure, driven by high and sustained statutory demand, increasing complexity of Child Protection work and persistent workforce shortages. Staffing levels across most localities remain below safe operating thresholds, with the exception of Helensburgh, resulting in limited capacity to manage complex casework, undertake timely assessments and maintain consistent compliance with statutory processes. The service has a number of unfilled vacancies and is currently reliant on a high proportion of Newly Qualified Social Workers, which significantly limits capacity within operational teams. In some localities, particularly Dunoon, Oban and Campbeltown, Child Protection work is being undertaken by Team Managers. Recruitment to vacancies has been repeatedly unsuccessful and there is a poor/nil response for temporary agency staff to fill these posts. This presents an unacceptable level of risk and creates sustained pressure on both practitioners and managers.
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3 Sickness absence and indicators of fatigue and burnout have increased across the service, reflecting the cumulative impact of prolonged pressure and extended working patterns. Staff routinely work well beyond their contracted hours, including twelve-hour days and weekend working, in order to maintain minimum statutory functioning. While safeguarding thresholds continue to be applied and immediate risks are managed, assurance regarding the consistency, quality and sustainability of practice is significantly reduced. Leadership Capacity and Governance Risk A critical and compounding factor is the fragility of senior management capacity within the service. Due to the long-term sickness absences of the Head of Service, Chief Social Work Officer and two Senior Managers, statutory, operational and governance responsibilities have become consolidated within a single Senior Manager role. This concentration of responsibility includes: • Operational oversight of frontline Children, Families and Justice services, • Escalation and management of high-risk cases • Governance assurance and reporting • Statutory decision-making functions • Oversight and management of HR processes for the service. This represents a single-point-of-failure and materially weakens governance resilience. The remaining Senior Manager capacity is increasingly absorbed by immediate operational firefighting, reducing the ability to maintain proactive quality assurance, learning activity and forward planning. Any further reduction in leadership capacity would place the service at immediate risk of failure. Current Mitigations and Controls A comprehensive range of mitigations have been put in place to contain immediate risk and sustain statutory service delivery. (Appendix 1) These include formal escalation through Senior Leadership Team and governance structures. Early engagement has taken place with the Care Inspectorate Link Inspector to ensure transparency regarding the service pressures and a meeting has been scheduled with the newly established National Social Work Agency. Operational controls include strict prioritisation of Child Protection work, daily safeguarding and operational triage arrangements (including joint working with Police Scotland, Education and Child Health), restrictions on the allocation of complex casework to experienced practitioners wherever possible, and enhanced oversight of Newly Qualified Social Workers. Work is ongoing with Police Scotland Concern Hub and SCRA to minimise the number of concerns being progressed to report requests through enhanced triage arrangements. Workforce mitigations include the development of a workforce strategy outlining immediate, short, medium and long terms actions, agency engagement where available, cross-locality support and active management of sickness absence. A business case is being prepared to initiate market plusage arrangement for social work vacancies. A temporary Head of Service post has been advertised, alongside approval for a temporary Senior Manager; however, recruitment
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4 processes are inherently protracted and will not provide an immediate resolution. It is anticipated that several months may elapse before staff are able to take up these roles. Although these mitigations have averted immediate system failure, they rely disproportionately on the exceptional commitment and goodwill of staff working well in excess of their contracted hours. Staff dedication to core social work values is consistently evident, and their professionalism and determination in going above and beyond to safeguard children is recognised and greatly appreciated. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to them all. The mitigations outlined above do not however address the underlying systemic issues relating to workforce and leadership capacity and are therefore fragile, time-limited and incapable of providing long-term statutory assurance. The current position can be described as unsafe. 4. RELEVANT DATA AND INDICATORS The assurance position outlined in this report is informed by workforce data, weekly locality-level staffing information, Child Protection activity trends, operational intelligence, service assurance reports and audit activity. Data indicates a sustained concentration of Child Protection demand within the Bute & Cowal area, particularly Dunoon, alongside the lowest levels of experienced practitioner capacity. The combination of high levels of Child Protection activity, limited experienced workforce and reduced leadership resilience significantly constrains the organisation’s ability to evidence consistent, safe and timely statutory decision-making and practice standards. 5. CONTRIBUTION TO STRATEGIC PRIORITIES This report aligns with the strategic priorities relating to protection of the most vulnerable children and families, improvement of service quality and safety, and ensuring sustainable statutory services. 6. GOVERNANCE IMPLICATIONS 6.1 Financial Impact • Continued workforce instability/inexperience increases the likelihood of crisis-led decision-making, delayed intervention and reliance on external placements, with associated cost pressures. • Increased cost pressures to apply market plusage in recruitment. 6.2 Staff Governance
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5 • Sustained excessive working hours and reduced management capacity present a significant risk to staff wellbeing, morale and retention, increasing the likelihood of further sickness absence at a time when no additional capacity exists. 6.3 Clinical and Care Governance • Reduced leadership resilience and reliance on mitigation measures increase the risk of variation in practice quality, delayed escalation of risk and compromised statutory oversight. 7. PROFESSIONAL ADVISORY As acting Chief Social Work Officer I am unable to provide assurance that Children & Families Social Work is currently operating in a safe, sustainable and resilient manner. Although statutory duties continue to be prioritised and delivered, assurance is significantly compromised by workforce shortages, limited number of experienced practitioners, critically reduced senior management resilience and reliance on exceptional working arrangements. The current mitigations support short-term risk containment only and do not provide a stable foundation for ongoing statutory service delivery. Until leadership capacity is stabilised and workforce resilience is restored, the residual risk remains critical. 8. EQUALITY & DIVERSITY IMPLICATIONS No adverse equality impacts have been identified. 9. GENERAL DATA PROTECTION PRINCIPLES COMPLIANCE All information contained within this report complies with data protection requirements. 10. RISK ASSESSMENT The overall risk for Children & Families Social Work is assessed as critical. Risks include failure to meet statutory Child Protection and other duties, unsafe reliance on a limited pool of experienced staff, governance failure arising from single-point-of-failure leadership arrangements, workforce burnout and increased likelihood of regulatory scrutiny. While the mitigations reduce the likelihood of immediate harm, the potential impact of failure remains high both to the organisation and the vulnerable children and families that we support. 11. PUBLIC & USER INVOLVEMENT & ENGAGEMENT No public or service user engagement has been undertaken as this is an internal governance and assurance report.
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6 12. CONCLUSIONS Children & Families Social Work Service is operating at the limits of its current capacity. While immediate safeguarding activity continues, the service is increasingly reliant on unsustainable measures that cannot be maintained without significant risk to children, families, staff and the organisation. Without urgent and sustained organisational intervention to stabilise senior leadership capacity, strengthen workforce resilience and rebuild governance assurance, the risk of service failure will continue to increase. The current position represents a managed but escalating statutory and organisational risk, requiring decisive action. DIRECTIONS Directions required to Council, NHS Board or both. Directions to: tick No Directions required x Argyll & Bute Council NHS Highland Health Board Argyll & Bute Council and NHS Highland Health Board 8. PREVIOUS REVIEW OF THE REPORT Meeting Title of report Date Output (if relevant) REPORT AUTHOR AND CONTACT Author Name: Shona Williams Email: shona.williams@argyll-bute.gov.uk
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7 APPENDIX 1: OPERATIONAL RECOVERY PLAN This plan sets out immediate and short-term actions to stabilise leadership capacity, protect statutory Child Protection delivery and strengthen governance assurance. Actions are prioritised by urgency and focus on risk containment, workforce sustainability and restoration of minimum viable oversight arrangements. Progress will be monitored through Senior Leadership Team and reported to the Clinical and Care Governance Committee at each meeting. Action Lead / Owner Output / Measure • Confirm and implement time-limited statutory prioritisation arrangements (including explicit pause/deprioritisation for non- statutory activity). • Daily safeguarding/operational triage with partner inputs (Police, Education, Child Health) focusing on unallocated CP work, imminent deadlines and highest-risk cases. Senior Manager Children, Families & Justice (Acting CSWO) / Team Managers • Written prioritisation notice issued and reviewed weekly. • Triage record maintained daily. • Workforce: continue efforts to secure additional experienced capacity through agency framework engagement, and/or short-term secondments • Deploy additional business support/ increase use of magic notes to reduce administrative burden (minutes, scheduling, reporting, case recording support where appropriate). • Implement explicit case allocation safeguards for NQSWs (cap, supervision frequency, escalation triggers) and restrict complex CP allocation unless named experienced oversight is in place. Senior Manager Children, Families & Justice (Acting CSWO)with HR & Procurement support • Number of additional WTE secured and deployed. • Reduction in unallocated CP workload and overdue statutory activity. • NQSW supervision/QA compliance reported monthly to SW Governance.. • Strengthen governance assurance: 1-page risk and performance dashboard to SLT (unallocated CP cases, overdue statutory timescales, leadership cover, sickness absence, key risks/mitigations). • Targeted quality assurance: dip- sample of highest-risk cases with learning/actions tracked. • Review and refresh local escalation protocol with partners to ensure consistent thresholds and information-sharing under pressure. • Regular updates provided to Loink Inspector and Lead Advisor NSWA Senior Manager Children, Families & Justice (Acting CSWO) /(Chief Officers Group / CPC where applicable) • Dashboard issued fortnightly. • QA sample completed fortnightly with actions tracked. • Escalation protocol agreed and communicated. • Complete recruitment to temporary Head of Service and Senior Manager posts • Implement market plusage / targeted recruitment package (subject to approval) and locality-focused recruitment campaign for Dunoon/Oban/Campbeltown posts. Senior Manager Children, Families & Justice (Acting CSWO)/ Chief • Leadership posts filled / start dates confirmed. • Recruitment metrics improved (applications,
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8 • Workforce sustainability: retention interviews, wellbeing protections (working hours expectations), and ongoing monitoring of sickness absence trends. Officer / HR Lead offers, staff in post). • Sickness absence and turnover monitored monthly. Note: Named leads/owners reflect current post-holders and will be confirmed/updated once interim leadership appointments are in place. The plan will be reviewed monthly to confirm continued appropriateness of mitigations and to ensure actions remain aligned to the prevailing risk position and statutory demand.