Child and Family Social Worker Workforce

Overview

We’d like your views on proposals to introduce national rules on the engagement of agency social work resource in local authority children’s social care.

Why your views matter

The independent review of children’s social care, published in May 2022, described the case to reduce overreliance on  agency social work resource in order to provide more stable relationships for children and families and reduce costs.

This consultation invites views on a set of national rules on the engagement of agency social work resource covering:

• price caps on what local authorities may pay for an agency worker
• post-qualified experience needed for an agency assignment
• use of project teams
• references, notice periods, and movement between agency and substantive roles
• collection and sharing of pay and agency data
• adherence of procurement routes with the national rules

What happens next

The results of the consultation and the department's response will be published on GOV.UK in September 2023