Supplementary Pack 1
Argyll and Bute Council · 12 May 2026
Back to Argyll and Bute HSCP Clinical and Care Governance Committee — 12 May 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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11 May 2026 SUPPLEMENTARY PACK 1 ARGYLL AND BUTE HSCP CLINICAL AND CARE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE - BY MICROSOFT TEAMS on TUESDAY, 12 MAY 2026 at 2:00 PM I enclose herewith item 8 (SOCIAL WORK GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP) which was marked to follow on the Agenda for the above meeting. Also enclosed is item 11 (CRITICAL STAFFING LEVELS IN CHILDREN & FAMILIES SOCIAL WORK SERVICE) which was not included on the Agenda for the above meeting. ADDITIONAL ITEM(S) OR ITEM(S) TO FOLLOW 8. SOCIAL WORK GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP (Pages 3 - 8) Report by Senior Manager Justice Social Work/Acting Chief Social Work Officer 11. CRITICAL STAFFING LEVELS IN CHILDREN & FAMILIES SOCIAL WORK SERVICE (Pages 9 - 16) Report by Senior Manager Children, Families and Justice Services/Acting Chief Social Work Officer Argyll and Bute HSCP Clinical and Care Governance Committee Duncan Scott Karen Leach Graham Bell (Chair) Evan Beswick Rebecca Helliwell Fiona Broderick Kevin McIntosh David Gibson Alison McGrory Councillor Dougie McFadzean Councillor Ross Moreland Louise Bussell Contact: Lynsey Innis, Committee and Democratic Services Officer Tel: 01546 604338 Public Document Pack
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1 Clinical and Care Governance Committee Date of Meeting: Tuesday 12th May 2026 Title of Report: Social Work Governance and Leadership Group Presented by: Shona Williams, Senior Manager Justice Social Work / Acting Chief Social Work Officer. The Clinical and Care Governance Committee is asked to: ▪ Note the assurance position and key risk areas across Social Work and Social Care services arising from the Social Work Governance and Leadership Group meetings held in November 2025, January 2026, February 2026 and March 2026. ▪ Note continued focused oversight of workforce sustainability, particularly within statutory services. ▪ Endorse further development of performance reporting, data quality and quality assurance arrangements. 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report provides a consolidated assurance update on Social Work and Social Care governance, performance and risk. Overall assurance across the system is partially assured with variations of assurance levels across the Services. Clear strengths are evident within Justice Social Work and Children’s Resources, alongside improving inspection outcomes in several Adult Services. However, significant and ongoing risks remain across Adult Social Work, Adult Support and Protection, Adult Mental Health and Children & Families services. These risks are primarily driven by workforce capacity, data quality limitations and variability in practice quality within high‑risk statutory functions. The Group whilst embryonic, continues to strengthen its governance role through consistent use of Service Assurance Reports, targeted scrutiny of high‑risk areas, and follow‑up of improvement actions. 2. RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended that the Clinical and Care Governance Committee: Page 3 Agenda Item 8
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2 • Note the current assurance position and key risk areas across Social Work and Social Care services arising from the Social Work Governance and Leadership Group meetings held in November 2025, January 2026, February 2026 and March 2026. • Note continued focused oversight of workforce sustainability, particularly within statutory services. • Endorse further development of performance reporting, data quality and quality assurance arrangements. 3. DETAIL OF REPORT Context and Governance Arrangements The Social Work Governance and Leadership Group provide strategic oversight and assurance across Social Work and Social Care services. It has met on four occasions since its inception in November 2025 and is chaired by the CSWO or delegate with a supporting term of reference placing it within the wider governance and regulatory oversight. Each meeting focuses on information contained within written Service Assurance Reports provided by Senior Managers across the Social Work Service. Overall Assurance Summary (as of March 2026) Service Area Assurance Narrative Adults (Adult Social Work, Adult Social Care, ASP) Overall assurance across adult services remains partially assured, with significant pressure driven primarily by workforce capacity and increasing complexity of demand. Adult Social Work continues to experience sustained vacancies, high caseloads, sickness absence and reliance on agency staff, particularly Service Area Latest Assurance Level Commentary Adult Support and Protection Partially Assured Persistent staffing pressures and rising referrals impact performance and recording quality. Adult Social Work (Operations) Partially Assured High caseloads, vacancies and delayed discharge pressures limit assurance. Adult Social Care Resources Assured Improving inspection outcomes; ongoing risks in care at home and medication management. Adult Mental Health Social Care Partially Assured Statutory delivery maintained but MHO shortages and agency reliance remain. Children & Families Social Work Partially Assured Strong strategic progress offset by practice and workforce variability across localities. High vacancy rate. Children’s Resources Assured Stabilized workforce and effective improvement activity. Justice Social Work Strongly Assured Strong statutory compliance and embedded quality assurance. Page 4
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3 within Adult Mental Health and ASP. These pressures have impacted timeliness of statutory activity, including reviews, inquiries and Mental Health Officer (MHO) duties, although core statutory functions continue to be delivered. Adult Support and Protection activity remains a key area of risk. Rising referral volumes, limited council officer capacity and variable quality of recording have constrained assurance. Training for council officers and revised role clarity are underway to strengthen investigative capacity. Adult Social Care services show a mixed picture. Registered services, demonstrate stronger assurance through stable management, routine audits and improving inspection outcomes. However, care at home services continue to present risks relating to workforce stability, medication management, complaints handling and data consistency. Improvement plans are in place and subject to ongoing scrutiny. Key risks for adults relate to workforce sustainability, delayed discharge impacts, inconsistent recording within Eclipse, lack of clear KPI’s and the resilience of specialist statutory roles. Children & Families Social Work Children & Families services are assessed as partially assured. Strategic direction is clear and aligned with national developments, including implementation of Bairns’ Hoose and refreshed practice guidance. These developments provide a strong framework for improvement. However, assurance is reduced by variability in practice quality and performance between localities. Workforce pressures due to vacancies and high number of newly qualified social workers persist in specific areas. This has impacted supervision capacity, consistency of decision‑making and quality of recording. Audits and inspections identified deficits in child protection case recording, risk assessment and oversight, particularly in complex cases. Improvement activity is underway, including strengthened management oversight, enhanced supervision expectations, and targeted QA sampling. Eclipse performance and data quality remain a recurring issue, limiting the groups’s ability to gain full assurance that activity, outcomes and risks are clearly evidenced. Resources (Children’s Resources and Adult Resources) Resources services are collectively partially assured, with a generally positive trajectory. Children’s Resources have shown significant improvement over the reporting period. Workforce stability has improved, leadership arrangements are more robust, and service development plans are in place. Risks are considered manageable and subject to effective oversight. Page 5
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4 Within Adult Social Care Resources, inspection outcomes have improved overall, with some services moving to reduced inspection frequency. Internal governance, audit and improvement planning arrangements are established, particularly within registered services. Remaining risks include recruitment and retention challenges, service sustainability in rural areas, consistency of practice in commissioned care at home services, and assurance over medication management and complaints. Justice Social Work Justice Social Work provides the strongest level of assurance and is assessed as fully assured. Statutory compliance is consistently evidenced, including delivery of court reports, risk assessment, supervision and public protection arrangements. Workforce pressures have stabilised, and vacancy levels are significantly lower than in other service areas. Improvement activity within Justice Social Work is mature and well embedded, including quality assurance, audit programmes and a strong focus on culture and values. The service demonstrates effective use of data, learning from practice, and leadership oversight. Justice Social Work is considered resilient, with good governance and minimal escalation required at this time. 4. RELEVANT DATA AND INDICATORS Performance information is drawn from Service Assurance Reports, inspection outcomes, audit findings and workforce data. Limitations in Eclipse reporting and lack of consistent KPI’s across service areas remain a system‑wide risk to assurance. As noted, further development work is required to standardise reporting. 5. CONTRIBUTION TO STRATEGIC PRIORITIES The report supports strategic priorities relating to protecting the most vulnerable in our communities, improving quality and safety, and ensuring sustainable services. 6. GOVERNANCE IMPLICATIONS 6.1 Financial Impact Ongoing workforce pressures, agency costs and impacts of delayed discharge present continued financial risk. 6.2 Staff Governance Recruitment, retention, sickness absence and supervision capacity remain key staff governance issues. Page 6
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5 6.3 Clinical and Care Governance Practice quality, recording standards and compliance with statutory duties remain central to assurance. 7. PROFESSIONAL ADVISORY This report has been prepared by the Acting CSWO 8. EQUALITY & DIVERSITY IMPLICATIONS No adverse equality impacts have been identified; services continue to meet statutory equality duties. 9. GENERAL DATA PROTECTION PRINCIPLES COMPLIANCE All information complies with data protection requirements. 10. RISK ASSESSMENT The overall risk profile remains high but controlled, with active mitigation and professional oversight in place. Children’s services are under increased risk management due to highlighted gaps in workforce capacity both operationally and in management capacity affecting assurance on the capacity to deliver statutory duties. At present risk mitigation is being undertaken through exceptional measures including extended working hours and other measures. Action is being taken to address this position both in the short and long term. 11. PUBLIC & USER INVOLVEMENT & ENGAGEMENT None as internal oversight. 12. CONCLUSIONS The Social Work Governance and Leadership Group is in its early stages of development and work is ongoing to ensure consistency of reporting across all areas of social work to ensure alignment of quality assurance and performance management reporting. At the present time, Social Work and Social Care services remains partially assured. Progress is evident, but continued CSWO and Head of Service scrutiny is required to manage workforce, practice quality and data related risks 13. 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 Page 7
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6 14. PREVIOUS REVIEW OF THE REPORT Meeting Title of report Date Output (if relevant) REPORT AUTHOR AND CONTACT Author Name: Shona Williams, Acting CSWO Email: shona.williams@argyll-bute.gov.uk Page 8
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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. Page 9 Agenda Item 11
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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. Page 10
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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 Page 11
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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 Page 12
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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. Page 13
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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 Page 14
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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, Page 15
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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. Page 16