Mr. Pat Smyth:

It is something that has not just happened in the past year; it has been ongoing for the past few years. Retaining social work staff within child protection services is a problem here, in the United Kingdom and pretty much across the world. We have a history of recruiting a high number of staff, but, between retirements and staff leaving after a number of years, it has been a pronounced problem. We were talking about this issue at the Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs earlier in the year. Last year we recruited 150 social workers and lost 150; therefore, our numbers were static. Out of a total whole-time equivalent count of between 1,550 and 1,600, approximately 10% of that number are recruited every year and 10% leave. That is, in fact, better than some of the figures in the United Kingdom, but it is a problem. We have put in place-----