Fewer than a dozen ‘twin hat’ directors combining children’s and adult social services left, research shows

May 22, 2025

There are now just 11 local authorities with so-called ‘twin hat’ directors, who hold both statutory roles of Director of Children’s Services and Director of Adult Social Services, it has emerged.

Publishing its annual update for 2025, the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) said “this is the lowest number since ADCS was formed in 2007 and may reflect the challenges inherent in the two complex remits”.

Other key headlines from the update are as follows:

During 2024/25, 39 local authorities experienced a change in DCS post-holder, which equates to just over a quarter of all local authorities and is 10 fewer than the year before.
Across these 39 local authoritiess, there were 51 changes in the DCS postholder; “due to the statutory nature of the role, there must always be a serving DCS in post, which can result in short-term interim posts prior to a permanent appointment.”
This year saw 18 new people being appointed on a permanent basis to the role of the DCS for the first time.

Rachael Wardell, ADCS President, said: “Consistent and stable leadership is essential to help children’s services navigate what is a complex and changing local government landscape, to deliver for the children and families we serve.

“Improving equality, diversity and inclusion within the Association, and across children’s services, so that we can reflect and respond to the communities we serve is an ongoing priority in my presidential year. This is the third year we have collected data on the broader protected characteristics from our members. While the DCS cohort is still not as diverse as we want it to be, this latest data shows that there was a slight increase in diversity of race/ethnicity amongst DCSs, continuing the upwards trend of the previous year, which is welcome.

“However, there is still more to do in terms of translating our words and commitment to improving diversity, in its widest sense, into actions that our workforce, and our communities, will recognise.”

She added: “The role of DCS is both unique and challenging and we need to pay more attention to how we support current DCSs to ensure we retain valuable skills, expertise, and experience within the sector. Creating a more visibly inclusive and diverse workforce, from the frontline right through to senior leaders, remains a key focus for ADCS. This goes hand-in-hand with the need for consistent, stable leadership, during a time of change and reorganisation.

“By working together with others in local government and across the public sector more widely, we can achieve the change we want to deliver, for the benefit of the children and families we work with.”