To receive a presentation on workforce issues.
Minutes:
Members of the Employment and Appeals Committee had been invited to attend the Committee for discussion of this item.
Documents:
· Presentation – Improvement and Assurance Board Workforce Workshop
· Social Services Workforce and Training and Development Overview
Discussion:
· The presentation had been updated since it had been presented to the Improvement and Assurance Board
· The older population is increasing – this is typical across Wales – and will lead to challenges
· At the same time, the overall population in Powys is falling – the number of working age residents is reducing by approximately 1000 per annum
· 11000 hours of domiciliary care is being provided weekly but it is becoming more challenging to recruit carers
· Members noted that the retirement age was increasing to 67 and, whilst this may mitigate some of the reduction in working age people, the role could be physically demanding. the majority of carers in the in- house domiciliary care team were aged over 55.
· The Welsh Government had clarified that under the Social Services and Wellbeing Act, an older person, was categorised as age 65 and above
· It was noted that Delayed Transfers of Care had increased over the preceding month. The Corporate Director, Children’s and Adults, reported that she had been investigating the data and had noted challenges around the data. She was having weekly conference calls with the Chief Executive of the Health Board and other officers to address this issue.
· It was also noted that independent, front line staff had a lot of responsibility but were often paid less than office based staff. The need to promote the role as a rewarding career was noted. Work was ongoing with Social Care Wales to attract staff.
· Data provided had been produced on a regional basis in May 2018. Further work was needed on an age profile, workforce stability and a workforce structure.
· A restructure of Children’s Services was in hand. Agency staff have reduced from 43 to 39 with a further four agency staff being appointed to permanent posts.
· An additional benefit of the far reaching recruitment campaign has been to improve the profile of Powys
· Recruitment has been undertaken by the service, with the support of corporate services, avoiding the expense of recruitment agencies
· The Service has a formal partnership with the Open University which suits the needs of the Authority. Currentlyonly undergraduate courses are offered but there is an opportunity to pilot a Masters Degree in the future. Historically two to three students have studied through Powys but last year this was increased to six. Placements are also provided for level 3 students from Glandwr, Bangor and Chester Universities. The number of placements has been doubled but this had led to a challenge in recruiting Practice Assessors. Seven members of staff are currently undertaking the Practice Assessors Award.
· Newly qualified social workers are required to undertake a Consolidation Award and this requires confidence in the leadership and support available to them
· Many of the students are mature students – the average age of in- house secondees is over 30
· A recent Careers Event saw 200 students access the Social Care presentation. The Birmingham Compass event has generated three applications to date. A similar event in Manchester is taking place in May.
· An integrated mid Wales approach was needed to ensure career progression was available
· The Chair of the Employment and Appeals Committee referred to the number of grievances that were being dealt with including some that take several months to resolve. He noted that employees need fair but strong management and welcome a sense of value as well as monetary recompense. The Corporate Director indicated that she wanted to ensure that staff were engaged with the process and could be listened to whilst acknowledging that grievances will continue to arise during the transition phase. However, efforts will be made to resolve these at the informal stage. An Employee Representative Group has been established and this group meets regularly with the Corporate Director and Heads of Service both to hold the senior management team to account and also to raise issues from the teams. The Trade Unions are also invited to attend.
· The service has been through a challenging period and an event will be held in July celebrating the positive work that has been done and to share good practice.
· The Corporate Director was asked whether work was ongoing with the Health Board and many recruitment and retention issues were common across both authorities. There are challenges in improving career structures which can be constrained in a rural area but innovative work with both the PtHB and Regional Partnership Board could be beneficial. A Workforce Development Manager has been appointed to an integrated post to tackle such issues.
· Members asked for further information on the levels of absence and within that, the levels of absence due to stress
· Members raised their concerns that, under the previous administration, Members had been assured that the service was progressing well and that there was no cause for concern. There was a need to ensure that this did not happen again. It had been proposed that Members visit various teams to gain first-hand experience and talk to staff. There is also a need to raise political awareness with staff. The Chief Executive was keen to find ways to support Members and provide opportunities for staff to meet Members and vice versa in the most productive way. Visits to teams had previously been undertaken and both sides had found them beneficial. Members also suggested that the OU courses should be promoted via social media, school assembly visits etc.
· Training will be aligned with the Service’s needs
· Grow Your Own is being actively pursued
· Support arrangements are being improved for both new and newly promoted social workers
Outcomes:
· Details of absence to be circulated
Supporting documents: