Minister Poots backs NIASW poll and invites Association to outline changes
By News Northern Ireland

NIASW held a very successful meeting with Minister for Health, Edwin Poots, on 14 January to discuss the Association’s recent survey of Northern Ireland practitioners, ‘Social Work not Paperwork’.

Commenting on the talks, NIASW Manager Carolyn Ewart said: “The minister supported our view that the findings of our poll indicate an unacceptable imbalance in the time spent on paperwork and actually visiting children and families, and that this must change.
 
“Mr Poots said he valued the role of social workers and the difficult and complex job that you do.
 
“In a welcome indication of how seriously he is taking the findings, he has asked that we prepare a paper detailing what needs to change to reduce the bureaucracy social workers face, and we will ensure that we do this on behalf of the profession in Northern Ireland.
 
“The minister is also keen to explore current blockages within the court system and plans to hold roundtable discussions on how to overcome the difficulties. NIASW will be part of these important talks.”

Click here to see the full survey report
http://cdn.basw.co.uk/upload/basw_32936-10.pdf