The Nature of Social Work Local Government and Voluntary Organisations The Changing Lives Report

The Demographic Challenge Changing Lives (2006) Ageing population (by 2030, 25% of the population will be over 60) Decreasing number of young people (18% predicted drop by 2028) Children in need (e.g. 60% of children leaving care leave school without any qualifications: 20% become homeless within a year) Changing needs (impact of medical advances and lifestyle changes)

The Demographic Challenge Changing Lives (2006) Fractured relationships (significant number of children growing up within complex and transitory groupings of parents, successive partners, extended family and local authority care) Social polarisation (growing gap between affluent and poor/impact of disadvantage) Cultural diversity (e.g. Scottish Executive’s “fresh talent” initiative) Changing concepts of community

Our context: changing expectations (Scottish Social Services Council, 2006) More people want to be supported to remain at home and maintain their independence People are becoming more assertive in expressing their choices and challenging poor services People expect services to be delivered in a range of ways

The Big Picture: Money and Politics Financial crash 2007 Conservative Coalition Government 2010 – Welfare reform – Cut in grant from Westminster (10% over 3 years) – Reducing allocation from Edinburgh to Local Authorities (against increasing demand and inflation) Scottish Nationalist Government since 2011 Post Referendum/UK election

Meeting the Challenge The Political Context The Scottish Government – Responsible for most of the legislation and policy changes that impact on social work – No “Minister for Social Work” Most social work roles are located in the ministries of Health, Education and Justice. Social Work is fragmented at the highest level. Westminster Government – Responsible for welfare reform and pensions and funding allocation to Scotland.

Local Authority Structures Thirty-two local authorities governed by elected “Members” – Responsible for policy-making within committees – Authorising action and expenditure within limits of law Policies of Scottish Gvt and “members” are enacted by departments staffed by “officers”. – “officers” are responsible to the Council

Contracting and Commissioning National Voluntary Organisations Barnardo’s, Aberlour, Capability Scotland, etc. – Charitable status/some with company status – Overseen by Boards of Management or similar – Most led by Chief Executive or Director – Structures more likely to allow for quick, delegated decision making

Contracting and Commissioning Local Voluntary Organisations Smaller scale initiatives – Charitable status and formally constituted – Structure Management committees Volunteers or mix of volunteers and paid staff Service users likely to be close to decision making – Funding from local authorities/trusts

21 st Century Social Work Review (2004 – 2006) Define the role and purpose of social workers and social work Identify improvements in the organisation and delivery of services Develop a strong quality improvement framework and culture supported by inspection Strengthen leadership and management Ensure a competent and confident workforce Review and if necessary modernise legislation.

21 st Century Social Work Review Findings Lots of unrecognised good practice Practitioners working successfully in the most challenging of circumstances, making fine professional judgements about risk Services deal skilfully with complex problems Unreasonable expectations of what services can do to sort out society’s problems Lack of self-confidence within the social work profession about its contribution Decision-making ability and professional autonomy of practitioners constrained by controlling line management

21 st Century Social Work Review Three Main Conclusions Doing more of the same won’t work. Increasing demand, greater complexity and rising expectations, mean that the current situation is not sustainable Social work services don’t have all the answers. They need to work closely with other universal providers in all sectors to find new ways to design and deliver services across the public sector. Social workers’ skills are highly valued increasingly relevant to the changing needs of society. Yet we are far from making the best use of these skills. (Scottish Executive, 2006)

Changing Times/Changing Expectations More people want to be supported to remain at home and maintain their independence People are becoming more assertive in expressing their choices and challenging poor services People expect services to be delivered in a range of ways

The Changing Lives Report The Scottish Executive (2006)

Increasing Professionalisation of Workforce Educational Framework – The Framework for Social Work Education in Scotland – Scottish Requirements for Social Work Training – Entry Requirements – Standards in Social Work Education (SiSWE) – Assessed Practice Learning Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) – Registration of the workforce :Regulation of Care Act (Scotland) 2001 – Professional Framework Transferable skills

References The Scottish Executive (2006). Changing Lives: The Report on the 21 st Century Social Work Review. The Christie Commision (2011). Commision on the Future Delivery of Public Services