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Assessing the effectiveness of policy interventions to reduce the use of agency or temporary social workers in England

Cornes, Michelle, Manthorpe, Jill, Moriarty, Joanna, Blendi-Mahota, Saidah, Hussein, Shereen (2013) Assessing the effectiveness of policy interventions to reduce the use of agency or temporary social workers in England. Health and Social Care in the Community, 21 (3). pp. 236-244. ISSN 0966-0410. (doi:10.1111/hsc.12011) (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:68336)

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Abstract

There has been growing concern that English local authorities are over reliant on temporary staff to meet the shortage of social workers. This has been criticised as inefficient and costly while leading to problems of continuity and consistency for people using social work services. Focussing on recent policy and the implementation of new administrative procedures for the procurement and management of temporary or agency staff, this article explores progress being made towards achieving the previous government's policy goal that by 2020 local authorities will no longer need to rely on agency workers to carry out tasks that would normally be carried out by a permanent social worker. The article draws on the findings of an exploratory study (20072010) commissioned by the Department of Health which comprised of the following: a survey of local councils in England with adult social services responsibilities; case studies in three different localities; and qualitative interviews with stakeholders (n=93). The findings suggest that while local authorities have reduced the costs of employing temporary staff through the setting up of intermediary control mechanisms, agency social workers continue to play important roles in teams and services.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1111/hsc.12011
Additional information: Unmapped bibliographic data: M3 - Article [Field not mapped to EPrints] U2 - 10.1111/hsc.12011 [Field not mapped to EPrints] JO - Health and Social Care in the Community [Field not mapped to EPrints]
Uncontrolled keywords: STATE, agency workers, SERVICES, social workers, temporary workers, recruitment and retention, workforce planning
Subjects: H Social Sciences
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research
Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research > Personal Social Services Research Unit
Depositing User: Shereen Hussein
Date Deposited: 13 Nov 2018 11:49 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Feb 2021 13:56 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/68336 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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