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Urgent national and local government action is required to turn around the staffing problems in the personal social services workforce, a new report published this week suggests.

The report, written by the Employers' Organisation on behalf of the Local Government Association's workforce planning task group, highlights problems, progress, and the way forward in relation to recruitment, retention, training and human resources management.

Key recommendations include raising public awareness at an earlier stage by introducing care into the national curriculum, drawing up a national plan for filling vacancies, and establishing a national pay support group to provide advice on pay-related issues in social care and health.

Social workers and social care staff interviewed at 15 local authorities identified 10 key factors adversely affecting recruitment, including the profession's poor image, stressful and difficult work, inadequate funding, and poor pay and conditions.

Potential employees are also deterred by a common perception of some service users as dangerous or "undeserving", a lack of clarity

about what the work entails, and the unattractive prospect of working for a "failing" authority, the report says. These problems are then exacerbated by a lack of effective workforce planning.

At the workforce summit called by health minister John Hutton in March 2000 it was predicted that the staffing situation would get worse without major intervention as the number of those employed in the social care sector rose from 5 per cent to an estimated 7-8 per cent of the total UK workforce in the next 10 years.

Staff attribute retention problems to low morale, a constant stream of reorganisation and new initiatives, and increasing bureaucracy and stress, the report finds.

High turnover is also linked to a lack of flexible working arrangements, uncertainty about the long-term future of social services, the use of agency staff, intensification of scrutiny, poor office accommodation, less quality time to spend with service-users, and money.

"Budget restrictions and resource allocation difficulties, which affect quality services delivery, also cause low morale; and pay and conditions in general provide a regular source of dissatisfaction," the report states.

"Social workers believe that they have lost ground in terms of image and reward in comparison with, for example, teachers."

To break the "circle of staff frustration", the report suggests change at a local and national level. Financial investment and positive, but realistic, image campaigns will be critical to improvement, it adds.

The report also argues for consolidation of national initiatives and internal reorganisations, for criticism to be "considered and constructive", and for "golden hellos" to be matched with payments that recognise the loyalty of current staff.

In addition, all local authorities should develop corporate training and development strategies, and ensure that wide access arrangements to courses and qualifications are maintained once new national occupational standards and the planned three-year degree in social work are introduced.

Highlighting the many examples of progress that are already being made by local authorities to tackle workforce problems, the report concludes: "There is little doubt that authorities can begin to turn around the recruitment and retention dilemma in social care services."

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