National Assembly for Wales Health, Wellbeing and Local Government Committee

Inquiry on Health and Social Care Workforce Planning

Submission by British Association of Social Workers, Cymru

1.  Introduction

1.1  The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) is the largest professional association for social workers and social care staff in the UK.  The Association has approximately 11,000 members employed in frontline, management, academic and research positions in all social work settings, of whom 700 are working in Wales.

1.2  This response by BASW Cymru follows from discussions with members of the Wales National Standing Committee, the members of which represent a cross section of interests as specified above.

1.3  As a professional association BASW is concerned to promote the highest possible standard of service for those individuals and groups who require a social care service, often at times of particular vulnerability.   BASW’s primary objects are:-

1.3.1  "To promote the education and training of social workers for the benefit of the public

1.3.2  To relieve poverty and its effects

1.3.3 To promote the education of the public in matters of social policy, social organisation and social problems

1.3.4   To promote the advancement of social work as a profession in all or any of its aspects”

1.4 The association actively campaigns on social policy issues and requires members to adhere to the "Code of Ethics”.  Advice and representation services are provided when required.

2.0 General Response

2.1 BASW welcomes the fact that the Welsh Assembly Government is inquiring into Health and Social Care Planning.

2.2 We are also supportive of measures that draw together the multiple approaches to Workforce Development. We do not believe that the present arrangement in Wales is a satisfactory way for policy makers and practitioners to both carry out their functions, and develop current and future practice. Get the right people into the right job, has been a clear message of Workforce development literature, but equally there needs to be greater emphasis on developing the people that we already have.

2.3 ASW members are not expert in drafting legislation, and hence our comments should be read in this context.

3.0 Summary

There is a need to ensure that workforce development is seen as a management activity that engages the whole workforce; involving key managers and front line staff, to ensure that the complexity of current and future workforce needs are identified. The social work task routinely engages with complexity, and brings a distinctive anti-discriminatory perspective to engagement and systems. The learning and knowledge within the social work practitioners, needs to be captured, transferred, and mobilised, to enable organisations to adapt to the constantly changing environment and context in Wales. This capacity inherent in the current social work workforce needs to be more fully identified and developed.  There is a joint responsibility here, but more leadership is needed from policy makers, and training officers.

With this in mind we offer the following comments:

Question 1

Is workforce planning undertaken by the right agencies and in such a way that takes into account other key factors such as finance, services planning and training capacity? Should it be more or less centralised?

There is a clear need for workforce development issues to be addressed in Wales, with a clear understanding and exploration from the social workers current perspective.

This is currently a very dynamic and complex area, with the introduction of the Social Work degree course, and also the lack of clearly defined post-qualification development routes. There are also early indications that different regions of Wales are beginning to provide their own Continuous Professional Development routes, a possible divergence from professional development routes in other parts of the UK. There is therefore a clear need for more centralization and standardization throughout Wales. This would provide a route for social workers to develop professionally, and also enable a clearer standardized analysis of the current and future workforce profile.

There is a potential dissolution of responsibility with too many people being responsible for professional development. A more centralized approach has clear benefits e.g. Many Local Authorities and organisations have adopted a Balance Score Card approach to Workforce planning, BASW is unclear if the various theoretical approaches have a coherence across Wales.

Question 2

Is the information available to workforce planners of sufficient quantity and quality to ensure effective planning?

There is no one model for workforce planning, nor is it a static process, but is rather a process that is flexible, ongoing and responsive to the different needs and areas of Wales. Information is therefore a key component in understanding and addressing the complex and unique needs of different stakeholders, and areas of Wales. The sources of this information are key, and need to reflect the complexity of workforce perspectives.

There is currently very little research being undertaken, to assess social work practitioner’s perspective of current and future training and developmental needs. Many social workers have contacted BASW, and have expressed the opinion that the practitioner’s perspective has been increasingly lost, with the result that inferences are drawn from quantitative data. The quality of this information is often poor, due to a reliance on statistical analysis of poor quality data, from an often limited sample. There is a potential for the crowding out of the complex, contextual and qualitative information, that is available form the practitioners and people of Wales.

The need here for a coherent Management Information System, to ensure performance data and training records are up to date. BASW is aware that there have been several different ICT approaches adopted to solve the local needs for management information, with questions needing to be asked about the integration and future development of these systems, across Wales. Also the need for ongoing ICT training and development; with the regular change in ICT systems, having a clear and often poorly understood impact of workforce practices.

The result is that there is insufficient quantity and quality of information, and also a lack of research into current workforce perspectives.

Question 3

Is workforce planning undertaken with sufficient regard to future patterns of demand for services?

Some policy makers and HR professionals lack a current and comprehensive understanding of the complexity of social care and related work force issues. What is needed is a wider and deeper engagement with workforce at all levels, this would not only be supportive of multi-disciplinary learning, development and working, but would also enable future changes and development to be more clearly understood and accepted.

BASW is also of  the opinion that the developmental potential of current social work workforce is not fully utilized. Many social workers have informed BASW of the pressures of not enough workers, high turn over has resulted in many not being released to attend training. This is clearly a worry to BASW, who want to support professional development within the profession. It is interesting to note, that the opportunities for professional development and research are more embedded in other professional groups. Much of the current training of social workers is currently done 'In house’, with current research potentially indicating that such training does not necessarily result in changes in performance in the workplace. More research is needed to underpin our understanding and knowledge in this area.

There are also clear questions, as to the number and distribution of social workers needed in Wales. This is a complex process as there is a need to factor: staff turn-over, voluntary sector, research, financial, policy and political factors. This analysis needs to have a transparency and the engagement of the profession throughout Wales.

Question 4

Are all stakeholders included in the process e.g. from the statutory, voluntary and private sectors.

BASW recognizes that it is very difficult for voluntary and service user organizations to engage with workforce development, with the framing of much of the discussion from the statutory sector perspective. BASW recognizes these organizations as key change agents, and a valuable source of contextual information. BASW would welcome and support increased involvement of these stakeholders in the process.

Question 9

To what extent is workforce planning anticipating changing patterns of service commissioning and provision and the changing or blurring of professional roles?

Involvement of key managers and front line social workers is needed, to build up detailed information about current and future workforce needs. BASW is of the opinion that the majority of social work practitioners are the source of organizational knowledge. Social work practitioners are therefore a clear source of information, and change agents within organizations. BASW does not simply see social workers as expert assessor only, but sees the sophistication of the role being broader than is often defined. The social work profession has and will continue to have a key role within society, in the delivery and maintaining services within a diverse range of areas. The emerging patterns of commissioning and provision, have involved social workers on all sides, involving a change in the social work tasks, and an opportunity for the expansion of the social work professional role.

Question 10

Does workforce planning take sufficient account of the need for training and effective managers?

Workforce planning is clearly a management activity that requires the engagement of the whole workforce, and cannot be undertaken by an isolated group of managers only. There is a need for involvement of key managers, and also of front line staff. This approach is the only way to continue to build up detailed and accurate information about the present and future workforce needs. This approach requires a greater emphasis on supporting and developing current and future staff. There is currently no clear and recognized management development routes for social workers. This results in an increasing emphasis on development of the capacity of generic managers.

Emyr Owen  MA, BA(cantab), BSc(hons), Dip SW, Dip HSW, RSW
BASW Cymru