Last week saw the return of the Children and Social Work Bill to the House of Commons for its report stage and final reading. The Children and Social Work Bill is a landmark piece of legislation in an area that has long been neglected and under-supported.
My close association with the social work profession allows me the benefit of understanding, and it is with this that I want to ensure this Bill offers young people and their social workers as good a deal as possible. Prior to becoming a Member for Parliament, I worked for Supported Fostering Services in a contact supervisor capacity, and as a councillor I saw some of the decisions taken around the cabinet table on looked-after children. I am also still connected with that charity as I remain an independent visitor for one of our local looked-after children, and my sister is a social worker.
I am extremely proud that this Conservative Government have brought forward a Bill that seeks to improve outcomes for our looked-after children, and children in need. That is why I pleased to speak again in the final stage of the Bill’s progress.
Following several meetings with Education Ministers, I was delighted the Government agreed to remove the clauses relating to local authorities’ power to innovate. While I welcome the fact that the Government have the desire to get behind innovation in the children’s social care system and to drive and encourage the reviewing and sharing of best practice, this should not be the preserve of local authorities that may operate at different standards. I am pleased that this will now not be the case.
We have seen increased levels of referrals and, speaking from my own experience, we often see large numbers of referrals in Kent of young people from London, alongside that with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. We hear that many local authorities around the country have capacity, and I hope they will follow through on their promise to support inundated counties such as Kent. Similarly, rather than the Opposition amendment on support for refugee children, I would have liked to have seen a real championing of the need to find foster carers and social workers to look after all the children we are already struggling to place in some parts of the country. The way we look after refugees and our own looked-after children must be on a par.
On social workers themselves, there is sadly a high burn-out rate for professionals dealing with child protection cases, and many social workers are leaving frontline social work due to the stresses involved. Local authorities are relying heavily on agency workers, and this impacts on the continuity of some of the decision making that takes place subsequently. Social workers have never had the credit that they deserve. They are often vilified when something goes wrong, but we never hear about all the good work they are doing day in, day out in protecting families. Social Work England is a positive way forward that should hold them in the high regards they deserve.
Investment in our young people will always pay off and I really do believe that these changes rightly put social workers in the position that they deserve. Of course there is still more to improve and I look forward to the Government making further proposals on meaningful reform, after consultation with frontline professionals and care deliverers, to ensure the best outcome for young people in this country.
Read the full transcript of my speech here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2017-03-07/debates/F4749711-5C4E-4937-9F42-CF8B1842CCB8/ChildrenAndSocialWorkBill(Lords)#contribution-D5C0117B-4BEA-434C-8040-AAADEEE13B82