Further criticism for BASW and College of Social Work…
25th July 2011
The ongoing disagreement over the formation of a single social work college has been criticised by Harry Cayton, the chief executive of the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence.
Cayton is charged with overseeing the transfer of social work registration and regulation from the General Social Care Council to the Health Professions Council, which will taking place in July 2012.
The College of Social Work and the British Association of Social Workers have failed to reach an agreement to merge into a single body, and Cayton said he was “disappointed” by the actions of the two organisations over the last 6 months. He also added that social work needed a strong professional body to balance the HPC’s role as regulator of the profession.
Cayton said:
“To have that disagreement going on just at a time when social workers need good leadership is very disappointing.”
“A proper professional group has a regulator and a strong professional association that promotes the profession and high standards. But we haven’t got that in social work because of the fragmentation on the professional side.”
The College of Social Work and BASW had signed a memorandum of understanding in April, where they agreed to work towards merging into a single body, but since this point there have been further setbacks in discussions.
In January this year, Liquid Personnel’s managing director Jonathan Coxon wrote a guest piece for the Guardian, which urged the two bodies to put aside their differences and work together, for the good of the profession. You can read that piece by clicking here.
