Cheshire East social worker shortage leaves council with £1.3m plus agency bill

By Gwyn Griffiths 27th Aug 2021

Cheshire East Council's Westfields HQ.
Cheshire East Council's Westfields HQ.

MORE than £1.3 million was spent on agency social workers by Cheshire East Council last year, data shows.

A Freedom of Information request to the council shows that officials sanctioned a £1,370,528 spend on agency social workers in the 2019/20 municipal term, with 18 staff being employed by the authority in adult services on August 1.

A further 14 were working in the children's services department at the start of last month.

This figure of 32 combined staff has not changed much in a year, as 34 agency staff were being used in September 2019.

A Cheshire East Council spokesperson said: "There is a national shortage of qualified social workers and many local authorities are having to use agency staff to meet the increasing demand for resources in the social care sector.

"The figure represents a small percentage of the overall budget for adult and children's social care in Cheshire East and the costs also include the fees the authority has to pay to agencies who supply staff."

The Local Government Association was contacted for comment.

     

Please Donate Crewe. Your Town. Your News. Your Support Matters.

Local news is essential for our community — but it needs your support.
By becoming a monthly supporter, you’ll help us continue delivering reliable local stories and events.
Your support makes a real difference to Crewe.
Monthly supporters will enjoy:
Ad-free experience

Share:


Sign-up for our FREE newsletter...

We want to provide crewe with more and more clickbait-free news.

     

...or become a Supporter.
Crewe. Your Town. Your News.

Local news is essential for our community — but it needs your support.
Your donation makes a real difference.
For monthly donators:
Ad-free experience