Adult Social Care Director Crisis Looms for Unitary Councils

There may not be enough directors of adult social services to lead all the unitary councils being created through reorganisation, the president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) has warned.Phil Holmes, director of adults, health and wellbeing at Doncaster MBC, said government initiatives to improve the pipeline of would-be directors were welcome but added: ‘We can't magic these leaders out of thin air. There is a risk of a number of councils being established without people who can successfully steer adult social care.'Writing exclusively for The MJ as directors gather for the National Children and Adult Services Conference, ADASS policy trustee Nick Presmeg said the sector ‘must protect and strengthen the pipeline of directors of adult social services and other senior leaders' as councils reorganise.Whitehall has promised £10m to retain leaders in children's services, adult social care and public health, fill other critical council roles, and develop future public service leaders.Presmeg said: ‘The Government's commitment to supporting aspiring and newly appointed directors is welcome and needs to be delivered.‘The Government has also recognised the pressures on councils, announcing additional transition funding, including support for leadership capacity and continuity in social care and other vital services. This is positive, but it must be matched by realistic expectations.'Julie Towers, of recruiter Penna, said she expected fewer current directors to retire than would have been the case five years ago because there was now a ‘better age profile'.She added: ‘The step-up markets in adults and children's have been better than they've been for a long time. ‘What we've seen is the sector invest. We've seen some really good aspirant talent.‘I think it's going to be challenging but it will only be challenging if members don't look at step-up talent. There's an opportunity for talent to move upwards and across.'Other recruiters said the employer value proposition and the choice of chief executive in the unitaries being created would be crucial in attracting the best candidates.A recruiter, who asked not to be named, said: ‘If you're a serving director of children's services or director of adult social services with a good reputation, you're going to be in a strong position.‘I think there's some really good people out there across the board but there won't necessarily be enough to go round.‘I think councils might have to start thinking more outside the box when looking to appoint to these roles. I think councils might need to be more open about the kind of candidates they appoint.'One council chief executive said: ‘[There] needs to be wider work on a proper workforce strategy for the sector, particularly around the recruitment of key statutory posts such as DCS [director of children's services] and DASS which will be much in demand. A sector wide approach on talent pipeline is needed, which includes bringing in expertise from across public and private sectors.'It is understood that one recent director of children's services role attracted just three applicants, with only one of those being appointable.President of the Association of Directors of Children's Services, Ann Graham, said the turnover of children's services directors was bound to be higher than normal, with more demand in areas affected by reorganisation.

Title

ADULT SOCIAL CARE

EXCLUSIVE: Too few adult social care directors for new unitaries, ADASS warns

By Dan Peters, Neil Merrick | 11 November 2026

Popular articles by Neil Merrick

SUBSCRIBE TO CONTINUE READING

Popular articles by Neil Merrick