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# County council chiefs say investment will bring “much needed change” to services supporting families and children
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/county-council-chiefs-say-investment-will-bring-much-needed-change-to-services-supporting-families-and-children/
- Published: 2023-05-02T06:03:00.000Z
- Updated: 2023-05-02T06:09:17.000Z
- Description: Council chiefs say a £5.7million investment will provide “much needed change” to services supporting children and families across Staffordshire.
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: Education, Politics, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 19:01, News

Council chiefs say a £5.7million investment will provide “much needed change” to services supporting children and families across Staffordshire.

A report by Cllr Mark Sutton, cabinet member for children and young people, to Staffordshire County Council’s overview and scrutiny committee says the funding will improve staffing and workloads in order to improve recruitment and retention of staff.

The funding was approved in February in a bid to enhance the provision of services for families and children.

Cllr Sutton’s report said:

> “An extensive analysis of efficacy and impact of services was undertaken. This analysis was done to understand the overspend in the areas of Children in Care, and challenges presented within SEND services.  
>  
> “After careful scrutiny, a total of £5.7million has been agreed with a view to improve our staffing and workloads within the directorate. It is understood that with improvements in recruitment and retention, and manageable workloads, much needed change in service delivery can be achieved especially in the areas of SEND and children in care.”  
>  
> Cllr Mark Sutton, Staffordshire County Council

A number of new posts such as independent reviewing officers, exploitation workers and educational psychologists are already being recruited.

Cllr Sutton said keeping as well as bringing in new staff was key.

> “Retention was a particular issue with two job roles – social workers and residential staff.  
>  
> “In relation to social work retention, the news of cabinet investment was sufficient to provide immediate relief and instil confidence in staff.  
>  
> “Recruitment and retention of residential staffing continues to remain a challenge – we have taken a measured approach to this matter and are aligning our residential review in line with sufficiency strategy.  
>  
> “We need to assure ourselves that our residential offer meets the emerging and future needs of children in care within Staffordshire. To this end, we are currently undertaking a full residential review with an aim of developing a service and structure fit to meet our current and future needs.”  
>  
> Cllr Mark Sutton, Staffordshire County Council

The report will be discussed at a meeting of Staffordshire County Council’s overview and scrutiny committee on 9th May.