Directors worry over inspectorate

There is growing concern over the performance
of Scotland’s Social Work Services Inspectorate and the “conceptual
fuzziness” around its responsibilities, president of the
Association of Directors of Social Work Jim Dickie told the
conference.

Dickie
said proposed changes, including the creation of a new post of
director of co-ordination policy in a new division within the SWSI,
were a matter of serious concern.

“The
response to this initiative can only be a resounding ‘Why?’,” he
said, adding that there had been no consultation and the change
appeared to have come from nowhere.

The
proposals were outlined in a speech by education and young people’s
minister Cathy Jamieson last month as she set out the executive’s
Action Plan for Social Workers.

Dickie
also called for greater clarity over the SWSI’s relationship with
new organisations such as the Commission for the Regulation of Care
and the Scottish Social Services Council.

“Unlike other inspectorates such
as in education, it attempts to straddle quality assurance, policy
development and policy implementation, discharging none very
effectively from a consumer’s perspective,” he told
delegates.

“Putting in place the commission
and the council will go a long way towards building confidence, but
it is now overdue that the inspectorate’s role be
reviewed.”