A WARRINGTON Borough Council social worker who borrowed hundreds of pounds from a vulnerable woman has been suspended for a further six months for 'lacking insight' – one year after he was removed from the post.

The case appeared before the Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service in London on Monday, April 8 for a review hearing.

Leo Kirk began working with the woman in March 2016, helping her with a benefits claim and attending a social security tribunal where she was awarded £4,800.

The agency employee – who had worked with Warrington Borough Council since March 2014 – later told the service user that he had been a victim of fraud, with £3,000 taken from his bank account.

On November 4, 2016, she loaned him £450 so that he could pay his mortgage but he left his post with the council four days later.

The service user was allocated a new social worker, who raised concerns with management.

Kirk repaid £100 of the money, but the remaining £350 was still outstanding.

After an investigation by his agency Wisemove Consulting, Mr King 'expressed regret that he had let down' the service user and Warrington Borough Council.

He was suspended from a new post with Salford City Council and the matter was referred to police, although it was found that Mr Kirk had not committed a criminal offence.

Warrington Borough Council repaid the outstanding £350 to the service user in cash, and was then reimbursed by the agency.

The council later received a cheque from Mr Kirk made payable to the service user, with a note expressing his 'sincere regret'.

This cheque was returned to Mr Kirk.

He was suspended from practising for 12 months for misconduct.

In a reflective statement read out at the review, he said: "From the outset I have acknowledged and accepted that my behaviour was unprofessional and out of character. I also accept that I had caused one of my clients to be upset and distressed which I apologised unreservedly.

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"Since I qualified as a social worker in 1998, I have devoted myself entirely to my profession and as a consequence built an exemplary reputation with the local authorities I was employed by, but more importantly the clients I was fortunate to work with.

"I have used the time from my suspension to reflect and re-evaluate my future in terms of what I wanted to do going forward."

While giving evidence he said that his practice had been ‘poor and bad’, that it was ‘embarrassing’ for him and the profession and that he had let his client down.

He described his misconduct as an ‘unfortunate incident’ and said he had a 'very good working relationship' with the user but could see on reflection where the boundaries had become 'blurred'.

When asked by the panel if he had attended any training courses, for example on professional boundaries, Kirk said that he had not.

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He said that he would like to think that at this stage of his career and age he understood where he had gone wrong.

When asked how he could demonstrate that to the panel, he said that the only way he could do that would be by returning to practice and did not need further training and he was not a newly qualified social worker.

Having heard the evidence, the panel was satisfied that he had demonstrated remorse, but was of the view that his insight and remediation were lacking.

They concluded that his fitness to practise remained impaired on public protection grounds and imposed a further suspension for six months.

Warrington Borough Council’s executive director for families and eellbeing, Steve Peddie, said: “We welcome this decision. We referred this matter ourselves to the professional body and agree that it is right and proper that this individual is unable to practise.”