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The government’s commitment to deliver `modern social services` could be under threat, unless key obstacles to improvement are removed, according to the annual report of the chief inspector of the Social Services, writes Jonathan Pearce.

Chief inspector Denise Platt highlights several themes in her report into the "state of the nation in social services", including slow progress in service delivery, major recruitment and retention issues and joint-working concerns between councils and the NHS.

"Budget pressures, lack of resources, the impact of increasing demand and overspends are risks and barriers to progress," says the report. Despite clear evidence of commitment from all councils to modernisation, progress is slow in many areas of service delivery, it adds.

Platt praises the work and ethos of social services departments, but shows them to be in a delicately balanced position, particularly in their relationship with the NHS. "There is some way to go before the integrated services envisaged in the NHS Plan are realised," she says.

One example is older people’s services, where the NHS is "not a source of commissioning and management expertise". The report says responsibility for social care services in the future development of primary care trusts or care trusts will therefore need to be "rooted in councils’ experiences".

Recruitment and retention problems are also "hindering the modernisation process", the report says, highlighting that this in turn impacts on the NHS.

The additional financial problems – with social services departments "typically" starting the financial year with overspends – could affect councils’ abilities to "keep pace" with NHS partnership plans.

Planning overload is also obstructing "coherent service delivery rather than improving it", says the report. It adds that a lack of co-ordination between NHS and council budgeting processes "impairs joint planning and joint investment in pooled budgets".

For the first time, the chief inspector has also focused on a specific geographical area – London – because of her concerns about the problems and services issues encountered by councils there, particularly in children’s services.

London councils are twice as likely to have been on special measures compared with other councils, says the report. It points to the capital’s high, fluid and diverse population levels, significant resource pressures and higher staffing and placement costs.

"As a whole, London councils are not performing consistently or coherently in delivering social care to an acceptable standard," says the report.

N DoH/SSI, Modern Social Services: a commitment to deliver – The 10th Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Social Services; available from www.doh.gov.uk/scg/ciann_10.htm