A council spent more than £1.1m on agency social workers around the time of a high-profile death of an abused child.
Logan Mwangi was killed by his mother, step-father and step-brother in July 2021 after suffering "catastrophic" internal injuries consistent with a "brutal and sustained assault" likened to a car crash. Angharad Williamson, 31, John Cole, 40, and 14-year-old Craig Mulligan were all convicted of murder and received life sentences.
A freedom of information request from the Welsh Conservatives has found that Bridgend Council spent £1,147,354 on agency social workers that year. This was a huge jump from the £165,624 spent the year before and £146,496 in 2019/20.
Read more: 'Serious concerns' with children's services in Bridgend a year after Logan Mwangi's murder
Tory shadow minister for social services Gareth Davies MS called the figures "very worrying". He said: “We’ve known about understaffing in Wales’ social services departments for a long while now, well before the current labour shortages we are seeing nationwide, which is what makes councils’ reliance on agency workers so concerning.
“This is all the truer in Bridgend where Logan was killed, and while we don’t know whether it contributed to the failings that left him in an unsafe environment, the Council’s recent dependence on agency workers is very worrying and does not inspire confidence going forward."
In August, a report from Care Inspectorate Wales found there are still "serious concerns" with the children's services department in Bridgend County Borough Council - a year after five-year-old Logan Mwangi was murdered. The report said that "further urgent action" is needed to improve services for children and families.
Mr Davies added: "Children need a strong presence from social services, but this cannot happen when councils are so dependent on agency staff because permanent placements are what lead to better outcomes as someone can handle a case consistently that way.
“I think our findings only serve to support our calls for a Wales-wide review of social services, especially since Wales is the only British nation without one and has the worst rate of looked-after children in the UK, all of which makes Mark Drakeford’s rejection of one so disappointing.”
In a response a spokesman for Bridgend Council said: “The issue of social worker recruitment is an ongoing national concern affecting many councils across the UK which has already resulted in a major joint recruitment drive from Welsh Government and Social Care Wales.
“It is normal practice for local authorities who experience difficulty in sourcing and retaining social care staff to be able to engage agency workers in order to meet statutory responsibilities for keeping adults and children safe. Bridgend County Borough Council is committed towards meeting these statutory duties at all times, and while workforce retention and recruitment remains one of our highest ongoing priorities, the increased spend on agency workers reflects the reality of increasing demands upon services to provide local adults and children with appropriate support.
“Social care provides fantastic career opportunities for people from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, and within Bridgend County Borough, the council is seeking to recruit more staff in areas that range from home care and reablement teams to services for young people.
“We want more people to actively consider careers in social care. A recent survey by Care Inspectorate Wales found that 93 per cent of our children’s social care workforce felt well supported in their roles, and as well as being incredibly rewarding, these jobs include full training and support, and offer a real opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of local people. Anyone who wants to find out more can do so by visiting the social care jobs page at www.bridgend.gov.uk.”
Commenting previously on the Care Inspectorate report a Welsh Government spokesman rejected the need for a review saying: "We have set out an ambitious programme for reform to transform children’s services in Wales and have been clear that now is the time for action and not further review. This action is based on a range of independent research, reviews and evaluation which set out the changes and the challenges which must be addressed.”
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