Press Releases
Read our latest press and media releases
MP inquiry hears how adoption targets will lead to rushed assessments and increased risks to children
The imposition of six month targets for placing children in care for adoption will lead to rushed and inadequate assessments, potentially making the process too fast for would-be adopters and open to abuse by predatory paedophiles. This was the message to MPs at the second evidence gathering session of an inquiry by the All Party Parliamentary Committee on Social Work into the state of the profession.
9th December 2012
Autumn statement: Bridget Robb - Don’t ask social workers to save lives with no resources
As Chancellor George Osborne unveils his autumn statement, BASW acting chief executive Bridget Robb considers the implications for social workers in a blog for Community Care.
5th December 2012
BASW: Protect children from ‘currency of sex’
Responding to the publication of the findings of a nationwide Inquiry by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, BASW has called on society to stop tolerating the promotion of sexualised images of children for commercial profit.
20th November 2012
BASW highlights damaging 'draconian' culture as Doncaster receives critical report
Concerns such as those highlighted today over failing children’s services at Doncaster will remain unless bureaucracy is reduced and cuts reversed to allow social workers to do their job, warned BASW’s chief executive Bridget Robb.
16th November 2012
Gove right not to blame individuals or care system but removing more children from home is no panacea
Commenting on a speech on child protection given by Education Secretary Michael Gove MP at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) that advocated an expansion in the care system, with more children taken into care more quickly, BASW has called for careful assessment of the long-term needs of children, backed by better resources to do this vital work.
16th November 2012
BASW: Profiteering private firms won’t save under-funded LA social services
BASW has hit out at Sandwell Council’s decision to award a £1.5m 30-month contract to management consultancy firm iMPOWER to run its children’s services.
9th November 2012
BASW: Care staff need better regulation that remembers personalisation
As an FOI request from BBC Inside Out programme to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) reveals that 217 care home providers in England have been employing staff who do not have the proper qualifications, BASW is calling for a better system of regulation that also pays attention to the personalisation agenda.
15th October 2012
BASW responds to member confusion about issues surrounding College membership
BASW responds to concerns raised by members about joining The College of Social Work (TCSW). BASW makes it clear to social workers they do not need to join TCSW to access the Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF) and that they should not listen to any employer wrongly stating they are obliged to join. After members approached BASW with suggestions to the contrary, the Association is also cautioning that TCSW does not offer workplace representation.
15th October 2012
IPPR ‘Frontline’ report: we first need to retain existing social workers
As the IPPR today publishes a new report proposing to apply the Teach First model to children’s social work, BASW cautioned of the need to support and retain existing staff and current graduates, many of whom are struggling to secure their first posts.
4th October 2012
BASW responds to allegations of targeting foreign families for adoption
There have been a number of claims made recently by families, notably from Slovakia, that children have been unfairly taken from their parents by authorities in England, culminating in a protest outside the British Embassy in Bratislava last month.
4th October 2012
BASW calls for social workers and judges to get same protection as celebrities
Following a successful campaign to take down a number of online hate sites ‘naming and shaming’ social workers and family court judges engaged in the protection of vulnerable children, the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and its trade union arm the Social Workers Union (SWU) is asking for these professionals to receive the same concern from the police as recent high profile figures.
3rd October 2012
BASW: Lack of advocacy for asylum seeking children “diabolical”
As the Children’s Society publishes a critical report of the UK Border Agency’s practices when dealing with asylum seeking children, BASW has condemned the lack of legal advice, advocacy and specific supportive services for asylum seeking children as “diabolical”.
22nd September 2012
BASW’s caution about increase in service outsourcing
BASW has questioned the extent to which councils in England understand the role of social work, in the wake of a government backed report which reveals that more than a third of council leaders and chief executives think that there are “no local services that could not delivered by an external agency”.
14th September 2012
Trafficked children: “Staff lack skills, not compassion”
As the Council of Europe’s GRETA (Group of Experts on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings) today releases a report on trafficked children, BASW is supporting GRETA’s call for better services and more specialist trained staff.
12th September 2012
BASW: social workers must confront taboos around suicide and depression
BASW is urging social workers to use today’s World Suicide Prevention Day to begin confronting taboos about suicide and depression, as a preventative film is launched with part funding from the Association.
10th September 2012
BASW launches guide for social workers on alcohol use in older people
Ahead of Joan Bakewell’s BBC Panorama investigation of older people’s drinking habits, BASW has launched a guide aimed at spotting the signs of alcohol abuse, and expressed concern that the excesses of this group can be overlooked by hospitals.
7th September 2012
New ministers challenged to contribute to social work inquiry
BASW has responded to the appointment of Edward Timpson MP as new children’s minister and Norman Lamb MP as care services minister by urging them to learn the lessons their predecessors refused to heed.
5th September 2012
Social workers exposed online – the dangers we face
Last week saw public attention drawn to the launch of a new “name and shame” website aimed at “exposing the truth” about social workers and their penchant for unjustly removing children from their parents.
3rd September 2012
Never knowingly undersold: social workers, not accountants, should have say on assessments
BASW has countered a report by public spending watchdog The Audit Commission, which suggests the adult social care funding gap could be plugged by using unqualified staff to complete assessments, with a reminder that cheaper doesn’t always mean better.
23rd August 2012
Cuts to Working Together guidance will lead to less protection for disabled children
BASW has warned that proposed changes to child protection guidance may exacerbate the risk of abuse faced by disabled children, as Ofsted publish a new study of 173 cases in 12 local authorities, finding that too many disabled children had child protection needs which went unidentified.
22nd August 2012
