BIRMINGHAM City Council is to launch a recruitment drive for social workers in Ireland.

Officials will travel to Dublin in September in an attempt to lure newly-qualified staff. It’s the latest effort to address a chronic shortage of social workers in Birmingham, with some council departments reporting vacancy rates of 20 per cent.

Almost ten per cent of the total social worker compliment of 700 are filled by agency staff – landing the council with huge extra costs.

Recruitment difficulties were identified as one of the main reasons behind a critical Ofsted inspection of children’s services, which concluded that care of youngsters at risk of abuse was inadequate.

Assistant social services director Christine Lynch said the council had managed to reduce the overall social worker vacancy rate from 24 per cent a year ago to about 15 per cent now but more needed to be done to reduce the workload on existing staff.

She added: “We know Ireland has a surplus of qualified social workers we can tap. It is Dublin where there is a market available of properly qualified people.”

Ms Lynch said a government improvement notice served on the council included a requirement to demonstrate “clear evidence” that vacancies were being addressed.

The drive came as a new city social services boss said he would order his staff to always believe children when they complain about being abused.

Colin Tucker, who was recruited to run the city council’s much-criticised services for children at risk of physical and sexual violence, said he would be telling staff to be more prepared to take what youngsters said at face value and then “check and chase” for proof.

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