Social Care News and Features

Proposed amendments to rules governing social workers will go ahead following a consultation by the Department for Education (DfE).

The changes to social work regulations largely affect fitness-to-practice processes, as well as related matters around information sharing.

They are likely to come into force on 1 December subject to approval by Parliament, to align with Social Work England’s registration cycle, the DfE said in a consultation response published this month.

Social Work England’s executive director of regulation, Philip Hallam, said: “We are pleased the legislative changes we identified as being necessary to improve our work to efficiently and effectively protect the public continue to be taken forward by the Department for Education following the outcome of this consultation.”

In all, the DfE’s exercise, which took place between March and May this year, attracted 48 responses, 22 of which came from individual social workers.

Organisations including the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), Ofsted and Unison also submitted responses.

Expanded disclosures

Most of the proposals contained in the consultation attracted strong backing from respondents, ranging from 68% to 94%.

Key changes include:

• Expanding Social Work England’s duties around disclosing information on registrants – and applicants to the register – to specified organisations, including social work employers, NHS bodies and fellow regulators, where this is deemed to be in the public interest.
• Amending regulations so that all fitness-to-practise sanctions made against social workers, with the exception of final orders, will appear immediately on the register, regardless of any appeal.
• Giving the regulator discretion to grant voluntary removal from the register where there are fitness-to-practise issues, with such decisions and “further details [Social Work England] deems necessary” to be published, provided these do not infringe on individuals’ rights.
• A series of changes relating to fitness-to-practise investigation proceedings, including broadening the regulator’s powers to require disclosure of information and to initiate interim orders, and clarifying Social Work England’s administrative responsibilities around case management.
• Making provision for interim orders to come into force immediately, even where they are being appealed.
• Giving case examiners, as well as adjudicators, the power to impose removal orders in certain circumstances.
• Amending the review period relating to interim orders from three to six months.
• Making provision for warning orders to be extended for up to five years rather than three, as is currently the case.

The amendment regarding the immediate publication of fitness-to-practise outcomes was the most contentious, with almost a fifth of respondents saying they disagreed or strongly disagreed.

Most of those opposed to the change cited fears that it could unfairly impact on social workers.

Other concerns raised included that expanding the regulator’s powers to require information could place a burden on individuals and organisations, and that the proposals around extending warning orders were “excessive” and could increase uncertainty around social workers’ fitness to practise.

‘Supporting effective public protection’

In its published response, the DfE said the changes would “further improve the regulator’s operational efficiency in support of effective public protection”.

It added: “The DfE intends to take forward the Social Workers (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2022, which will support Social Work England to improve its processes and procedures for fitness to practise concerns and ensure [it] is able to confidently disclose relevant information to those who need it.”

The DfE’s statement said the draft regulations would be introduced to Parliament “shortly” but that there would be a delay of at least two months before they came into force to “give social workers and other interested parties time to take account of the changes” and for Social Work England to update its documentation.