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• Behan is chief inspector for new commission

Plenty of people say they dislike talking about themselves, but in very few cases is it true. David Behan is one of those cases. His reticence and self-effacing manner, and apparent desire to avoid saying anything controversial, are at odds with one of the other most striking things about him: his approachability and openness, writes Polly Neate.

The mild-mannered exterior conceals someone ambitious and action-oriented, who can lead and manage change. You don’t stay in post as a director of social services for five years without those qualities, and the fact that his department in Greenwich, south London, is shortly to launch the biggest private finance initiative deal in social care, and that he previously oversaw the birth of Middlesbrough social services department in local government reorganisation, is further evidence. As is the fact that next week, Behan will take the floor at the National Social Services Conference in Cardiff to give his inaugural address as president of the Association of Directors of Social Services.

So why would somebody who is "absolutely terrified" at the thought of appearing on Newsnight want to be the country’s most prominent social worker? As Behan says, someone desperate for a platform isn’t necessarily what social care needs. "We want to represent social care. We don’t want individuals representing themselves."

He knows social care professionals often feel their case is not made in the public arena. But he maintains that the ADSS shouldn’t shy away from representing front-line practitioners just because its members are directors. "It’s important that we don’t forget what it was like when we were in practice - the rewards as well as the difficulties. We can be a voice for social work. We should. Because over the years, the ADSS has secured an important position. We are respected by the government and have an opportunity to make our points. That means the ADSS also has a great responsibility."

What would Behan most like to have achieved as ADSS president in a year’s time? "To have made the case for the contribution social work and social care can make to the welfare state over the next decade."

Although it has been said every year for a decade that social care is at a crossroads, Behan’s presidential year will genuinely be a crucial one. His list of challenges has five main items, and they are all high-profile issues. First: "The Victoria Climbié Inquiry, the future of child protection, and the future of children’s services more widely."

Second, he says, comes "our continued work with the independent sector to secure stability in the care home market". Surely the root problem there is that there just isn’t enough money in the system? Typically, Behan approaches the fact that he agrees in a diplomatic and roundabout way. "Well, 6 per cent is very welcome. During the autumn we will get the detail of how it’s to be committed. But it won’t be a complete solution."

Third is: "A raft of changes around older people’s services - single assessment, free nursing care, cross charging. Practitioners need space, time and support to respond to these changes."

Fourth is closer joint working with the NHS. "The ADSS line has always been to go for integration only if it’s shown to advantage users." And fifth, the performance measurement framework and star ratings. Asked about his concerns about performance assessment, he is again anxious to say something uncritical first, almost as if the chief inspector of social services was in the room. "If indicators are going up, people are very pleased. They can reinforce positive messages about an organisation. I certainly think they have exposed people’s accountability to improve performance. But I think if we are going to make judgements about intervention or freedoms and flexibilities, we need to be really clear about the basis of the indicators."

Behan’s fastidiousness about giving both sides of every argument is not just unwillingness to be controversial. He is actually more interested in getting to the bottom of the question than in giving his own view. Discussing the Mental Health Bill, he says: "There is a real concern about protecting society from people who do present a threat, without diminishing other people’s rights and liberties."

So, does the bill go too far?

"I really do hope there is a review of the bill between those two competing priorities, as an outcome to the consultation."

So, yes?

"Yes," he laughs.

Nevertheless, he’s determined to speak out as ADSS president, particularly on behalf of front-line workers. "The thing I would be most critical of myself about, as a director, is do I really show appreciation of the difficult work people do," he says. The role of president is an opportunity to show that appreciation more widely than to his own staff. "And I hope I will." There’s no beating about the bush on that one.