By James Simons-

The new body,  named Social Work England, will also have its first chief executive appointed by the secretaries of state and must have all further appointments approved by the government.

The moves, set out in a government amendment to the Children and Social Work Bill, shows the willingness of the Department for Education to increase its influence over the standards social workers, and social work courses, must meet.

The department of health had initially hoped to bring social worker regulation under direct government control but caved in to the idea of an independent regulator last week after encountering strong opposition from social workers groups.

In caving in, the department of health demonstrated an inherent weakness to be decisive, in a similar manner they did when the eye of media.com approached the department a couple of months ago about the need to impose a drug policy on social workers, after the eye of media.com exposed a drug problem among a number of social workers in several boroughs in London.

In their response to the eye of media.om, the department of health carelessly left discretion on matters of random drug testing to individual boroughs handling social services, instead of setting the rules as expected by any responsible government.

Social Work England  will take over social worker regulation from the Health and Care Professions Council in September 2018, once the plans are approved by parliament.

Social Services

Social services has long been dogged by a shortage of finances, as well as an overload of work, compromising the efficiency of its services as a result. Social Work England and have promised to spend 10m in start-up costs, which will be raised  to £16m by 2020 in funding the running costs.

The HCPC is currently independent of  the government, both financially and its terms of its decision-making powers. However, It is accountable to parliament, not the government of the day. Neither the education or health secretaries has the power to approve or reject its work, which is an appalling standard of affairs.

The HCPC must have some high standards, but their standards do not appear to be high enough. Social workers are currently immune from drug testing , allowing the possibility and reality that a number of them have impaired judgment when making vital decisions on families.

Last week, social work leaders welcomed the government’s decision to pledge a new “independent” body for social workers, with some key figures stressing the need for accountability to Parliament.

Department Of Education

A Department for Education spokesperson said:

“Ministers will not be involved in the day to day running of the regulator but they, alongside the independent Professional Standards Authority, will be responsible for holding this new organization to account, to ensure children and adults access the best social work services.”

Let’s hope they are truly held to account because the eye of media.com will be keeping a close eye