BASW issues warning over impact of cost-of-living crisis on social workers

Those that use their cars for work are among the most adversely affected. Despite the rising cost of fuel, BASW notes that the government has failed to increase workers' mileage rates in more than a decade.

The current rate of 45p a mile was set in 2011, says BASW, which wants to see a national review of local and regional terms and conditions for the profession, including care mileage allowances.

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“The cost-of-living crisis is a crisis for social workers,” says BASW.

“We see the impact it has on the people we work with every day and social workers are increasingly personally affected.

“Practitioners who use their cars for work are absorbing the impact from the rising cost of fuel leaving them facing real term pay cuts.”

Student social workers are another group within the profession to be impacted due to their bursaries being frozen for the eighth year in a role, despite record inflation increasing their housing and living costs.

UK consumer price inflation hit 9.4 per cent this summer, a 40-year record.

BASW is concerned that bursaries for the 2022/23 academic year are the same as those offered in 2014. In addition, the number of new bursaries is capped at 1,500 for postgraduate awards and 2,500 for undergraduates.

“To achieve and retain an effective workforce, we need to keep our skilled social work practitioners, and support experienced social care workers (who are not yet qualified social workers) to undertake training,” the social workers’ organisation says.

“We must increase the number of well-motivated students in these programmes and on the mainstream university undergraduate and post-graduate programmes.”

BASW adds that it was vital that support was available to help people who have “had more challenging life journeys” to become social workers.

“These people have often developed the personal qualities and life skills that make them excellent social workers.”

The concerns have been raised in BASW’s response to the Independent Review of Children's Social Care.

Independent Review of Children's Social Care - BASW England full response https://t.co/mXn2u7eTdI

— BASW (@BASW_UK) August 9, 2022

BASW criticises the review for “significant weaknesses” in realising the potential of social workers, saying recommendations made “do not reflect the breadth and nuance” of the profession’s role in society.

The review wants to see a clearer career path for social workers and to remove barriers preventing them from spending time with families.

But “the proposals inexplicably ignore many areas of social work, including social work with disabled children and their families, adoption, foster care, neighbourhood family social work career options, social work specialisms with hearing impaired people or work with unaccompanied teenagers”, warns BASW.

The review also calls for the scrapping of the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) role.

BASW says its members are “unequivocal in their opposition” to this proposal.

“IRO’s provide an opportunity to support social workers in reflective practice, they provide an opportunity to challenge not only social care but other agencies when they are just not doing a good enough job for our children that we are responsible for,” said one social worker surveyed by the BASW.