Buckinghamshire: Record number of agency workers employed in children's social care

Buckinghamshire employed a record number of agency workers in its children's social care services, new figures show.

Children's social work charity Frontline said the record use of agency workers across England – which were used to fill more vacancies than in any year since records began in 2017 – is "a symptom of the recruitment and retention crisis" in the workforce.

Department for Education figures show there were 112.2 full-time-equivalent agency workers in children's social care services in Buckinghamshire as of 30 September 2023 – up from 93 the year before, and the highest figure since records first began in 2017.

The figures also showed the local authority had 77 FTE vacancies last year. Agency workers covered 76.6 of these.

Nationally, the number of agency workers reached a record high in 2023 at 7,174 FTE.

Of these, 5,744 were used to fill new vacancies, also a record high. This meant 74.4% of vacancies were covered by agency workers last year, also the highest figure on record.

Frontline said the figures reflect what it has heard from social workers for some time.

A spokesperson added: "The use of additional agency support and subsequent expenditure associated with this is, without a doubt, a symptom of the recruitment and retention crisis we are seeing in children's social care across the country.

"Agency hires can help meet temporary demand for social workers, but when used to fill a long-term shortfall in staffing, they can cause significant financial strain on councils."

Meanwhile, separate figures from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities show spending on children’s social work services across the country has exploded in recent years, from £8.8 billion in 2017-18 to £12.8 billion in 2022-23.

Buckinghamshire spent £110 million in 2022-23.

The Department for Education said there are now more social workers employed across the country, with a record number of new starters.

A spokesperson added: "Our investment in recruitment and training of child and family social workers and the hard work of local authorities is generating positive results.