Social Work England: changes to the regulatory framework

We asked for views on our proposals to make changes to the Social Workers Regulations 2018 which will support Social Work England to improve its existing flexible model of professional regulation to secure public protection, foster professionalism, and ensure standards of practise.

We received 48 responses to the consultation from a wide variety of interested stakeholders including: social workers, unions, local authorities, regulatory bodies and service users.

The responses were broadly supportive of the proposed changes with approval ranging from 68% to 94%. Both the Department and Social Work England are pleased by the positive support for the proposed changes to the Social Worker Regulations 2018 and want to thank all those who took the time and effort to respond to the consultation and for the contributions received.

Following careful consideration of responses to this consultation, the department will proceed with legislation to introduce all the proposed changes to Social Work England's regulatory framework. The social workers (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2022 will be taken forward as soon as parliamentary time allows. Some respondents who commented on the [proposed regulatory changes also provided wider comments on the way in which Social Work England operate as a regulator. 

While these comments fell outside the scope of this consultation, we will continue to work with Social Work England to explore these and specifically where there are opportunities for further improvement.