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The recruitment crisis in child protection is forcing the government to look to the voluntary sector for boosting child protection social worker numbers, children's minister Margaret Hodge has revealed.

She said the government was in the earliest stages of looking at how the sector could be used to build the capacity of the workforce, which was still struggling with recruitment problems caused by its poor image.

Speaking at an Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations conference last week, Hodge added the government "desperately want you [the voluntary sector] as deliverers as well as planners and commissioners of services".


But director of UK operations at Barnardo's Chris Hanvey said: "We have gone from a position where the voluntary sector is hardly mentioned in the green paper, especially in relation to children's trusts, to one where the government wants us to have a much more prominent role."

He added: "The privilege of working in the voluntary sector is that we are free of statutory responsibilities. I don't think many organisations will wish to see those duties transferred to the voluntary sector."

Hanvey went on to say that the sector was able to establish much closer relationships with service users because "they recognise we are not the 'welfare.'

John Coughlan, co-chair of the Association of Directors of Social Services' children and families committee, said: "If what we are saying is that the voluntary sector has the potential to develop people who then may want to go on to become child protection social workers that would be welcome. But if what is being talked about is core child protection responsibilities being redirected to the voluntary sector that would be more complex and problematic."


Earlier, chair of the charities bill scrutiny committee Alan Milburn said the voluntary sector was already a major provider of environmental regeneration, learning difficulties and mental health services and its role could be expanded further.

But he added: "I do not believe the voluntary sector can - or should - replace the state. The public sector and the voluntary sector should be partners not rivals... this agenda cannot be about the voluntary sector replacing the public sector."