Government shake-up to social care posts

The Department of Health is to create a post of director of
social care for England.

Health secretary John Reid told the annual National Social
Services Conference last month, that the  director would
“strengthen the relationships the department has with social
care in local government and elsewhere” and “ensure
that all policy development in the department starts by thinking
about the health and social care system as a whole”.

Reid said the post would be “similar in style to the
directors of patient and public involvement and of primary
care”, implying that it would not be at the same level as the
heads of the three new directorates within the restructured
DoH.

The new president of the Association of Directors of Social
Services, Andrew Cozens, said the director of social care was
needed to champion the voice of social services within the DoH.

Separate to the director of social care, Antony Sheehan has been
appointed as director of care services with responsibility for all
aspects of social care at the DoH. He will surrender his roles as
chief executive of the National Institute for Mental Health in
England and head of mental health at the DoH.

Meanwhile, the Department for Education and Skills has appointed
Tom Jeffrey as its first director general for children and
families. Jeffrey, a civil servant who has worked at the DfES for
more than 20 years, will lead the new directorate that was created
when responsibilities for children and families were transferred to
the department in June.

He will be responsible for advising education secretary Charles
Clarke and minister for children Margaret Hodge. He will also play
a key role in implementing the proposals put forward in the
children’s green paper.