Timpson has said that while the government is planning to establish a new social work regulator in order to help give the profession the "status and the public standing it deserves", he is also keen that social workers have "their own ways of developing their professional identity".
"I know there's a feeling for some that another form of professional body will also help," he said.
"I stand ready to hear the profession's ideas on how best to achieve just that. I want to kick off, I hope, constructive conversation about the kind of professional body and support that social workers would truly value, because, fundamentally, social workers are the solution to the challenges we face in children's care."
The Association of Directors of Children's Services has said it would back the creation of a new professional social work body, the idea for which comes little more than a year on from the closure of The College of Social Work.
Rachael Wardell, chair of the ADCS workforce development policy committee, said: "Social work is at the heart of systems that support families in need, protect vulnerable people and enable choice, which is why it is vitally important that we continue to invest in strengthening the profession.
"Ever since the closure of The College of Social Work there has been a need for a strong, visible professional body to hold responsibility for standards, practice and to provide a high-profile voice for the profession.
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