Issue - meetings

The Board received a report from the Executive Director – Adults, which provided information on Halton’s results from the Employer Standards Health Check Survey, that was conducted at a national level between October 2022 and January 2023.

It was noted that The Health Check Survey was co-ordinated nationally by the Local Government Association (LGA) and was part of The Standards for Employers of Social Workers, which were refreshed in the Autumn of 2020.

The report outlined the eight standards being asked about in the Survey and presented a summary of results, found in appendix 1.  The key headlines from the survey were received in Summer 2023 and were presented in paragraph 3.9 of the report.  It was noted that immediate action was taken to address the main areas of concern, as highlighted in the report.

The following information was provided in response to Members questions:

·         Most Social Workers were in a Trade Union – in respect of the survey, this was anonymised using a link within the survey;

·         The moderate outcome for ‘supervision’ was due to staff shortages but this is now resolved and all staff now receive the required supervision;

·         The recruitment process had improved, now taking between 6-8 weeks;

·         65% of student Social Workers stayed in Halton and overall, most Social Workers liked working in Halton;

·         Remote working was rare now, with most staff preferring to be in a supportive office environment; and

·         The use of agency workers had reduced – there were a couple in the Mental Health Team and two others working on specific projects.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.