Diploma applicants tumble by one fifth

The number of new applicants for the Diploma in Social Work has
fallen by 19 per cent since 1998, according to the Social Work
Admissions System.

Only 5,093 people applied for the DipSW through the admissions
system by the end of 2002, compared with 6,254 for the 1998 intake.

The figures given by health minister Jacqui Smith in a written
answer to the House of Commons coincided with the announcement that
the first universities have been licensed to run the new social
work degree from September.

The General Social Care Council has approved 52 universities in
England to run the new three-year degree course. This will replace
the two-year diploma, the final intake for which will be this year.