Social work college funding questioned by BASW…
20th October 2011
BASW Chief Executive, Hilton Dawson
The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) wrote a letter to Prime Minister David Cameron this week to raise concerns about the relationship between the College of Social Work and trade union Unison.
The College has received £5m in seed funding from the government, and BASW claimed that they were offering membership (usually costing £270) to Unison members at a heavily discounted rate of only £60.
BASW chief executive Hilton Dawson argued that this was “establishing a new quango that will act as a recruiting body to attract new members to the trade union”.
He went on to say: “While David Cameron calls for ‘more transparency in public procurement’ and attacks the Labour Party’s trade union links, his education and health ministers have sanctioned the use of taxpayer money in secret deals that will benefit Unison and sustain the sort of quango the government said should be abolished.”
The government has since denied the claims. A Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson responded: “The claims made by BASW are not accurate.” They explained that “The College …will be self-funding, accountable to its members with no core funding from government.”
This story is the latest in a succession of high-profile disagreements between the two parties. BASW and the College of Social Work had expressed a desire to work together towards creating a single unified social work college. However, in September this year, talks broke down, with the relationship between Unison and the College proving a contentious issue, and BASW launching its own trade union.
