Chief Social Work Annual Review

Published

19th November 2020

A new report shines the light on valuable work being carried to protect vulnerable people and improve lives in the city.

The annual report from chief social work officer Diane McCulloch explains how the city council and health and social care partnership are working together to provide support in Dundee and manage increasingly integrated responses to the health and social care needs of children, young people and adults.

This year’s Annual Report describes how the Chief Social Work Officer has supported the progression of a number of key areas of work.

There has been a reduction in the overall number of Looked After Children, an increase level of diversion from prosecution and improvements in relation to unscheduled care.

In addition, work has been undertaken with the Scottish Prison Service to develop new approaches to males aged 21-26 who are at risk of custody, employability, prison release and electric monitoring.

Key challenges and opportunities across children’s services, community justice and health and social care will be discussed as the report is considered by the city council’s policy & resources committee on Monday November 16.

Chair of the Dundee Integration Joint Board of the Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership, Councillor Ken Lynn said: “I am pleased at the level of progress we are making in key areas across the city to help support some of the most vulnerable people.

“In the last year we have significantly strengthened our approached towards vulnerable women through innovate projects such as the Caledonian Programme and the Pause Programme.

“None of these achievements would have been possible without the work undertaken by our social care and social work workforce and I want say a huge thank you to them.

“They carry out hugely important and extremely valuable work, often in difficult circumstances.

“Their hard work and dedication have been evident throughout the coronavirus pandemic and I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to them.

“They have kept the focus on protecting the safety and wellbeing of the people who rely on them for support and protection and I want to take this opportunity to highlight the amazing work they do and thank them for it.”

“Partnership work is key to delivering a better city for Dundonians and I’m particularly pleased to see the huge number of collaborative projects that are having an impact.

“Going forward we will continue to work in partnership with all of our stakeholders, including those in the third and independent sectors, to rebuild after COVID and continue our improvement work in relation to public protection, care experienced children, substance use and mental health.”

It should be noted that as this annual report covers the period from 1st April 2019 to 31st March 2020 it does not reflect the Social Work and Social Care response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dundee City Council

Dundee draws skilled workers from a 60-minute catchment population of 640,000 and has a local population of over 140,000. The availability of a large pool of highly skilled labour is a key feature in the Dundee economy. Flexibility in the labour force is currently more prevalent in Dundee than in Scotland as a whole. All forms of labour market flexibility - part-time, temporary employment, self-employment and shift work - are widely operational within the city. Labour force stability in the city is excellent, enabling companies to plan with confidence. Labour turnover levels are less than 5% and absenteeism averages 2%.

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