Debate contribution: Social Workers: Agency Recruitment
Debate contribution by Mr Mike Nesbitt on .
- MLA
- Mr Mike Nesbitt
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 27 January 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Social Workers: Agency Recruitment
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4759126
Read the official Assembly record
Text
For a number of years, the Department has been working collaboratively with the trusts and other stakeholders in an effort to stabilise the social work workforce. It has been a key focus for my predecessor and for me. In early 2023, over 200 social workers were employed by recruitment agencies. They were delivering Health and Social Care services.
The majority of those agency social workers were located in children's services, which is a sector that was also experiencing high levels of vacancies.
In collaboration with the trusts, the Department decided to end agency usage for HSC social workers by the end of June 2023. Some 160 former recruitment agency social workers were then recruited into HSC posts. I repeat: 160. The five trusts have confirmed to the Department that, between September 2023 and the present day, no recruitment agency social workers have been employed in HSC services. I am pleased to report that, between July and October 2023, 204 newly qualified social workers were appointed to vacant posts, the majority of which were in services relating to children and families. That exercise was repeated in the summer of 2024, and, again, I am glad to report that a further 221 newly qualified social workers have successfully completed their social work training and taken up permanent employment in the trusts. The net effect of the Department, stakeholders and the HSC trusts working together over the past two years has been the trusts’ complete cessation of agency social worker usage, the direct recruitment of 160 former agency social workers into HSC contracts and the recruitment of almost 430 newly qualified social workers into HSC vacancies.
273 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.68).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.68 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 1.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:50 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.