Agency pay frustrates Hartlepool Borough Council efforts to attract more social care staff

Hartlepool Borough Council officers said there is a “high volume of demand for services for vulnerable children and young people, with the number of referrals continuing to rise”.

The latest meeting of the children’s services committee heard the area faces “substantial capacity pressures” with the national shortage of social workers highlighted.

Councillors agreed for the committee chair to work with lead officers to look at lobbying the Government for more support.

Council officers highlighted how “the agency market is working against local authorities trying to recruit and retain permanent staff” with pay rates for agency staff “significantly higher”.

Sally Robinson, director of children’s and joint commissioning services, said as a smaller local authority Hartlepool faces “financial challenges” in comparison to other councils.

But she stressed it cannot just be about money.

She said: “For us it’s about being the best employer we can be.

“There is a lot to be said about feeling safe within an organisation and helping your practice, but at the same time money talks, which is why I have been very challenging with my peers because I think it’s a slippery slope.”

She added Hartlepool continues to have the “strongest performing children’s services department in the Tees Valley”.

Councillor Mike Young, deputy council leader and Conservative group leader, added: “We are being pressed in Hartlepool to take responsibility for funding things in a unique town that the government themselves should be funding directly.

“We should not have the pressure of putting council tax and precepts up in this town to care for kids.”