It says Department for Education and Skills' proposals to revise WorkingTogether to Safeguard Children are a "blatant" attempt to underplay therole of social workers.
The document sets out how all agencies and professionals should worktogether to promote children's welfare. But some proposed changes, suchas asking whether professionals other than social workers should leadSection 47 enquiries, have angered the association.
Section 47 of the Children Act 1989 places a duty on local authoritiesto make enquiries when they suspect a child is suffering harm; socialservices take the lead but work with other agencies including police,health bodies and schools.
"Asking questions such as: 'Should qualified social workers lead Section47 enquiries?' is an insult to the social work profession; it is likeasking whether a qualified surgeon should carry out a complexoperation," states the association's response.
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