Eight-figure council funding to create 132 social care jobs in Manchester

New proposals greenlit this week are set to create as many as 132 social care jobs in Manchester.

The plan will see over £10.2m extra cash from council reserves invested in children’s services over the next five years, as part of a wider strategy to cut the demand for support and enhance the services available.

Of the eight-figure total, £3.648m will be spent in the 2016/17 year, followed by £4.094m over 2017/18. In 2018/19, the figure will be reduced to £1.065m and, in 2020/21, £311k.

Since an Ofsted inspection in 2014 found the level of services to be inadequate, Manchester City Council has invested £14m to improve the lives of children and young people in the area.

While the current number of cases per social worker stands at 24, the recruitment drive is expected to slash that number to 18.

Manchester City Council’s Executive Member for Children’s Services, Cllr Sheila Newman, said: “The timing is now right to invest this extra money directly in more social work staff as part of our longer term strategy to reduce demand and sustain improvements made so far.

“Our frontline social workers do one of the hardest jobs in the city. I regularly visit them and know they’re determined to do their best for Manchester children.

She continued: “We want to ensure that every child and young person we come into contact with gets the best possible service from us - with the right help and support at the right time.

“It’s clear that if we invest now and increase the number of social work staff who work on the frontline and the number of managers to oversee best social work practice, this is exactly what we should be to do.”

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