MPs call for major social work reform with new professional body taking lead

Social work for children and families is under “severe stress” and government plans for reform have “significant weaknesses”, a group of MPs has warned.

The cross-party Education Committee said social work was being pulled in different directions because it was split between the Department for Education and Department of Health, with two chief social workers who reported separately on the different agendas.

Instead, there should be one chief social worker and a new professional body to take a lead on improving the sector instead of ministers’ planned solution of a new social work regulator, the committee said.

The MPs warned that the Government’s planned reforms to the structure of children’s services were untested.

And they said interventions on badly-performing children’s services should focus less on “unnecessary structural change” and more on giving local authorities more support during that period.

The report comes as government figures show the number of children in care – 69,540 – is higher than at any point since 1985.

The committee also highlighted a recent study published in the British Journal of Social Work which found that that one in five children born in 2009-10 – almost 150,000 children – was referred to children’s social care before their fifth birthday.

The research also showed that the number of children who became the subject of a child protection plan rose from 44,300 in 2010 to 62,200 in 2015.

Education Committee chairman and Tory MP Neil Carmichael said: “Social workers have a crucial role in improving outcomes for children, young people and families.

“At a time when social work is under immense pressure, with social workers facing increasing workloads and local authorities wrestling with tighter funding, it is crucial the Government now makes greater efforts to work closely with the social work profession.

“The Government shouldn’t be wasting money on a new social work regulator.

“The Government should instead help to establish a new professional body for social work, which is trusted to take the lead on bringing about the improvements needed.

“The Government’s new reforms do not focus enough on tackling the endemic retention problems in children and families’ social work and ministers must now make it a priority to fix this issue.

“Improving post-qualifying prospects, increasing the voice of social workers at a national level, and changing the ‘blame culture’ persistent in social work, are important steps which can be driven forward by a strong professional body.”

A Department for Education spokesman said: “We agree with the Education Select Committee, both that social work is one of our most important public services and that work is needed to improve its quality.

“Excellent social work transforms lives – that’s why the Government has invested over £700 million in training and recruitment, why we have committed a further £200 million to innovation projects intended to increase the quality of social care practice and why we intend to accredit every children and family social worker in the country to a high standard.

“We know from experience that any new professional body needs the support of the workforce. Despite investing over £8 million of public money, the College of Social Work could not get the membership it needed to succeed.

“The proposal to set up a specialist regulator will be developed in conjunction with the profession, and responds to the need to raise standards.”

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