15 September 2006
More than 10% of social care posts were unfilled in September 2005, an increase of 0.6% from 2001, a survey commissioned by the Local Government Association has found.
But council leaders said the overall position was one of modest improvement, as turnover rates had fallen from 13.9% in 2004 to 11.6 % in 2005. Shortages in individual specialities such as occupational therapists had also improved.
David Rogers, chair of the LGA's community wellbeing board, said: 'We cannot and must not ignore the ongoing problems that exist around recruitment and retention, but overall these results start to paint a more positive picture.'
The survey of 104 of the 149 social service departments in England found that up to 69% reported continued problems, citing children's social workers and occupational therapists as the hardest skill areas in which to recruit.
But the overall size of the social care workforce had increased by over 78% since 1989 during a period in which the local government workforce as a whole had reduced by over 9%, the survey found.
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