I was thrilled to become Chair for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Social Work on 21st March, coinciding with World Social Work Day. This is hugely important to me as social work is an area which is close to my heart and one that I have been emotionally invested in for over a decade.
As part of my first day in the position, I had the honour of giving the opening remarks for BASW’s World Social Work Day event where I had the amazing opportunity to listen to numerous professionals speaking on the challenges that social workers and children in care have to face. The event was a fantastic celebration of all the positive work that people in the field do and the amazing achievements they accomplish on a daily basis.
The event followed the All Party Parliamentary Group for Children’s “No Good Options” report launch which was led by Tim Laughton, Co-Chair for the group. This meeting offered a unique insight into how carers are struggling to cope with an ever increasing demand and the dire consequences this carries for the children they look after.
I was pleased that the recommendations offered by the report were very much in line with the Government’s ‘Together We Can Tackle Child Abuse’ campaign, launched earlier this year. The campaign is just one part of the Government’s five year programme and aims to reform children’s social care in the UK as a matter of urgency.
However, we must also recognise the important role that social work can play in helping adults and this was highlighted last week when we held a female veteran roundtable in Parliament. There is clearly a lack of understanding in this area and it was heart-breaking to hear the difficulties these women had to go through on leaving the army. Their personal accounts were incredibly telling and hearing from them first hand enabled me to better understand where the priorities should lie.
I consider myself hugely fortunate to be in a position where I have the possibility to make real change in social work, and am glad that I have been entrusted with this responsibility. Good social care and protection for children in need are of paramount importance for our society and if we are to prosper, we must support the sector one hundred per cent.
I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues on the issues discussed at this week’s events and hope to be able to really make a difference with my new role.