1. The role of Chief Social Work Officer
Social Work Scotland
The role of Chief Social Work Officer

2. The context of social work services
Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 and subsequent legislation
Social work is essential to the delivery of good outcomes for the most vulnerable in communities and, through partnership working, helps people achieve change
Local authorities have significant statutory duties in relation to supporting people
Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014
The 1968 Act requires local authorities to appoint a chief social work officer for the purpose of listed social work functions
Social work is legislated in section 3 of the above 1968 Act
It is not a universal service, there is no one-size fits all approach
Social workers work with people to understand and assess what is happening in their lives.
Social workers apply learning from research and practice to make professional judgments about how best to help people achieve change in their life
This can be straightforward if agreement is reached about what the issues are, or
This can be challenging if there is no agreement, or if social work intervention must occur as a statutory response, i.e. issues of protection or deprivation of liberty
The integration of health and social care also places additional responsibilities on local authorities and partners to work together, and provides for the delegation of certain social work functions to integration authorities (duty placed on adult services but not on services for children – each integration authority has interpreted this locally)
The 1968 Act placed a duty on local authorities to appoint a chief social work officer

3. The chief social work officer
The core aim of the chief social work officer is the provision of effective, professional social work advice and leadership to local authorities in relation to the authority’s provision of ALL social work services; and, in the context of integration, provision of the same to partnerships to which certain social work services are delegated
CSWO
The chief social work officer operates across social work services for adults, children and justice services, regardless of his/her operational management remit.

4. The chief social work officer: criteria
Is a role for which the local authority retains statutory responsibility and cannot be delegated
The chief social work officer must be:
A qualified social worker, registered with the Scottish Social Services Council
Designated as a ‘proper officer’ of the local authority, and
Of sufficient seniority and experience in the operational and strategic management of social work services
In practice, the role is held by a Director or Head of Service who holds operational management responsibilities for either children’s services and/or justice services; OR adult social care
The chief social work officer role is distinct from operational responsibilities
It is important that colleagues are clear about the role and function of the chief social work officer, as distinct from the post holder’s service management responsibilities.

5. The chief social work officer: overarching objectives
As leader of the social care and social work profession within the local authority and integration authority, the chief social work officer role involves:
The provision of professional advice in the discharge of the local authority’s statutory functions as outlined in the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968
The provision of strategic and professional leadership in the delivery of social work services
The assistance to local authorities and their partners in understanding the complexities and cross-cutting nature of social work services and the key role social work plays in contributing to a wide range of local and national outcomes
The support of overall performance management and the management of corporate risk

6. The chief social work officer: specific functions (1)
Promote values and standards of professional practice, ensuring these are communicated and understood
Ensure all social service workers practice in line with, and meet the requirements of, the Scottish Social Services Council’s codes of practice
Establish a practice governance group, or link with the clinical and care governance group, to advise and ensure maintenance of high standards in practice and supervision
Provide professional advice and contribute to decision-making
Ensure professional standards are achieved in governance arrangements for the management of balancing need, risk and civil liberties

7. The chief social work officer: specific functions (2)
Ensure appropriate systems are in place to support:
Continuous improvement and to address poor practice
Learning from critical incidents
Only registered social workers in undertaking designated social work functions
Quality assurance
Safe recruitment and workforce planning
Provision and quality of practice learning experiences for social work students

8. The chief social work officer: specific functions (3)
Implement areas of decision-making which are conferred directly by legislation onto the chief social work officer. These include:
Deciding whether to authorise the secure accommodation of a child, reviewing arrangements and removing the child from secure accommodation if appropriate
Making a decision about the transfer of a child subject to a Supervision Order in cases of urgent necessity
Acting as guardian to an adult with incapacity where the guardianship functions relate to the personal welfare of the adult and no other suitable individual has consented to be appointed
Making decisions associated with the management of drug treatment and testing orders
Carrying out functions as the appropriate authority in relation to a breach of a supervised release order, or to appoint someone to carry out these functions
Such decisions must be made either by the CSWO or by a professionally qualified social worker, at an appropriate level of seniority, to whom the responsibility has been formally delegated and set out within local authority arrangements. Even where responsibility has been delegated, the CSWO retains overall responsibility for ensuring quality and oversight of the decisions.
In addition to these specific areas where legislation confers functions on all CSWOs, there will be a much larger number of areas of decision-making which have been assigned by individual local authorities to Chief Social Work Officers. These areas may include responsibilities assigned through guidance or other routes.
For example:
the 2014 guidance on Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) makes explicit reference to the role of the CSWO in responsibility for joint arrangements, in co-operation with other authorities.
although mental health services are delegated to Integration Joint Boards, some of these functions require to be carried out by local authority officers with a social work qualification (Mental Health Officers). Local authorities will want to be reassured via the CSWO that these functions are discharged in accordance with professional standards and statutory requirements
It is for each local authority to make transparent which additional specific areas of responsibility in regard to their social work functions they have assigned to their CSWO.

9. The chief social work officer in integration authorities
The chief social work officer has a role as:
A non-voting member of the Integration Joint Board or the Integration Joint Monitoring Committee (regardless of operational service responsibilities)
A professional leader in clinical and care governance arrangements
A member of strategic fora which provide direct access to the chief executive and elected members
These roles involve:
Providing comment on areas of risk for vulnerable individuals and communities
Providing advice on the impact of issues on the provision of effective social work services
Providing comment on findings of service quality and performance reports
Producing and publishing an annual report on the chief social work officer role and on social work services
In providing comment, the CSWO should highlight:
implications for the local authority, for the IJB, for services, for people who use services and support and carers, for individual teams/members of staff/partners as appropriate;
implications for delivery of national and local outcomes;
proposals for remedial action;
means for sharing good practice and learning;
monitoring and reporting arrangements for identified improvement activity.

10. Challenges of discharging the chief social work officer role
Tensions between ensuring professional advice-giving at ‘arms-length’ (as chief social work officer) and taking operational decisions (as operational manager)
Unclear local governance structures and lines of accountability
Concerns regarding the effective delivery of integrated and single agency services within the current economic climate - ‘what can we afford to provide?’, rather than ‘what does our community need?’
Budgetary constraints which direct a focus on statutory service provision rather than promote a culture of early intervention and prevention
Service transformation which necessitates disaggregation of previous successful partnerships
For example, operational decisions can be taken on the basis of budgets and performance expediency, and consequently, professional advice may be given on the basis of risk, ensuring quality and maintaining professional standards.
Reference: Audit Scotland report 2016

11. Working in partnership
Undertaking the role of chief social work officer requires a strong partnership approach
Raising the profile of social work services locally and nationally
Maintaining a transparent dialogue with communities in relation to local social work service planning and provision
Understanding that chief social work officers are key to discussions about maintaining services which are safe, effective and minimise risk to individuals and communities
Senior leaders should ensure effective access for chief social work officers in relevant decision-making and governance fora

12. In Summary
The chief social work officer is a role and function, rather than a job description
The chief social work officer role extends beyond the operational management responsibilities
The chief social work officer role applies to the professional leadership of, and accountability for, all aspects of local social care and social work services
Improved understanding of the chief social work officer role is beneficial to all leaders in discharging their own responsibilities effectively in local authorities and in local integrated arrangements
The Audit Scotland report (2016) will be of interest and assistance in supporting the delivery of sustainable social care and social work services and in ensuring councils and integration authorities discharge their statutory responsibilities
Partnership working is an essential component of the effective delivery of shared responsibilities in delivering effective and sustainable social care and social work services

13. Further information Social Work Scotland: www.socialworkscotland.org
‘Undertaking the role of chief social work officer: sharing knowledge from practice 2016’ report
The chief social work officer standard
The role of chief social work officer: guidance issued by Scottish Ministers, revised 2016