Staffing issues stall effective working

The high turnover of staff working with asylum seekers combined
with the problems surrounding government funding and legislation
have created a workforce nightmare for social services departments,
Kent strategic director of social services Peter Gilroy said.

Gilroy told the Unaccompanied Asylum Seekers conference, that
councils needed permanent and experienced staff to work with asylum
seeker children.

He said: “If you use agency staff you will never get to the stage
of having experience.”

At the conference, organised by the Harrogate Management Centre,
Gilroy also criticised the funding of services and constantly
changing legislation.

He said:”Local government is trying to cope with these issues and
the money should be there to do the job. That has been problematic
and local government has been left reeling at times trying to think
through the implication of judgements.”

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