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Administration
In the first year (1965) of the new Borough the Administrative Services of the Health and
Welfare Department were concerned mainly with surmounting the difficulties of the amalgamation
and ensuring the continuance of the services to the public.
In 1966, in spite of the stresses of development and extensions of the services, more
time has been made available to plan improvements in the administration.
SERVICES DIVISION
A modern Health and Welfare Department such as we have in Waltham Forest employs
many professional and technical experts, and the Administrator, by reason of his training, and as
his years in office progress, gains a lively appreciation of their functions and needs. Therefore
each year the field staff and the administrators work together more closely to render the most
effective and prompt service to the public.
During 1966 there has been a great improvement in the integration of the field workers
and the supportive staff, and this was considerably helped by a re-disposition of staff so as to
improve sectional supervision. It is hoped that in 1967, with more space becoming available,
that we shall be able to further integrate the social workers and administrative staff of the
department.
MANAGEMENT DIVISION
The responsibilities of this division are more prosaic than those of the Services Division.
However, the work is just as essential to the needs of the department.
The Staffing Section dealt with a turnover of staff which involved the appointments of
185 professional, technical or clerical and 215 manual staff. Further to this 1,120 medical
examinations were arranged and conducted in respect of staff of all departments of the Council's
service.
In the Finance and Supplies Section some 2,000 orders were placed with suppliers and
approximately 20,000 accounts, mileage claims and maintenance requisitions were dealt with.
The filing of correspondence and records of the department is the nerve centre of a
department of this size. The amount of correspondence received reaches proportions never
experienced before, and this has to be dispersed to all sections of the department promptly and
with previous correspondence on the same subject attached thereto.
GENERAL
The experience of the last two years has revealed that the original establishment of the
department is not sufficient in quality to cope adequately with the needs of the expansion of the
services, and I am of opinion that three or four more middle tier appointments are required to
strengthen the administrative team.
The supernumeraries have settled in well and given sterling service. However, it has
not been possible to give them experience in various sections of the deaprtment, as the "routine
work" pressures have necessitated them becoming static rather than peripatetic.
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