Westmorland and Furness: Fifth of social worker and care roles 'vacant'

The report also found a vacancy rate of 14% for care support workers, compared to the national figure of 9.9%

More than a fifth of social work and occupational therapy roles in an area of Cumbria are vacant.

A report prepared for Westmorland and Furness Council said the vacancy rate of 20.5% in the area was higher that the national average of 11.6%.

A lack of affordable housing and losing workers to higher paid jobs in the NHS were factors, the report found.

Members of the health and adults overview and scrutiny committee will meet to discuss the report on 7 March.

The report also found a vacancy rate of 14% for care support workers, compared to the national figure of 9.9%.

About 63% of care workers in the area were paid less than the current national living wage and research by Community Care revealed that pay was the number one reason for social workers leaving the profession.

On average the council paid about £12.80 per hour, similar to supermarket store assistants who earn on average £12.95 an hour, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

"The area routinely loses adult social care staff to the NHS, which has roles which match the skills and experience of our staff, but often with more attractive pay and conditions," the report said.

"Recently there has been an increasing trend of these staff leaving for roles at BAE Systems, which is prepared to train people with the right skillset, often offering significantly higher pay."

However, the report added that the council had reduced the use of agency staff by 52% in the last six months of 2023, from an average of 5,351 to 2,787 hours per month.