Former social workers are being encouraged to get back into the care sector with the return of a national recruitment scheme.

The Return to Social Work programme, organised by the Local Government Association (LGA) with the Government Equalities Office, has been relaunched following its success back in 2017 to recruit and retrain staff.

Cllr Ian Hudspeth, chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: 'We are delighted to open up the scheme again after it proved so successful last year. Councils are desperate to get good quality, trained professionals on their books.

'The LGA looks forward to working with the Government Equalities Office to ensure our communities are equipped with social workers that they need as demand increases.'

The LGA said the scheme may be replicated across other professions in the future such as planning, ICT and legal departments.

Minister for women and equalities, Liz Truss, said: 'We are investing in returners to work – giving them the opportunity to refresh and grow their skills. By acting on this issue we can fill empty jobs across the country and achieve true equality in our workplaces.'