A string of changes in the council's social work department is planned

It comes as department officials are bracing themselves for the publication of inspection reports next month.

The department and the criminal justice social work division were put under the microscope in March and April.

The authority has decided on major changes before the findings of the study by the new Social Work Inspection Agency (SWIA) are released.

The local authority was the first in Scotland to be evaluated by the SWIA.

It is clear from the evaluations carried out over the last nine months that we need to look at how we manage social work within the council Fraser Sanderson Council director

The agency's reports will not be made public until September, but it is understood that key council officials have had access to the findings.

Fraser Sanderson, the director responsible for social work, said the authority would be required to put in place an action plan for change by the end of the year.

He said a self-evaluation and review process carried out prior to the inspections had already identified a range of issues to be addressed.

'Appropriate structures'

"It is clear from the evaluations carried out over the last nine months that we need to look at how we manage social work within the council," he said.

"A number of different pieces of work are now under way to address the need to attract and retain social workers and to develop relevant training programmes.

"In addition, we need to develop appropriate structures for staff, improve management information and support planning and commissioning of services.

"These are all significant challenges that need strong management structures.

"The developments will also integrate with the corporate review of management structures which will be brought forward later this year."