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The "decimation" of the Department of Health's social care knowledge base has left it reliant on the sector's national bodies for policy assistance, Skills for Care's chief executive has claimed, writes Mithran Samuel.

Andrea Rowe said her organisation, the Commission for Social Care Inspection, the General Social Care Council and the Social Care Institute for Excellence were regularly called upon to answer parliamentary questions and instruct civil servants on social care.

The exodus of social care specialists from the DH has a number of causes. Several transferred to the Department for Education and Skills when it took over responsibility for children's social services in 2003. Others departed with the abolition of the DH-based Social Services Inspectorate, while the department, like others, has been subject to swingeing cuts as a result of the Gershon efficiency review.

Rowe said civil servants with a health background were working on social care policies, but some had little understanding of the sector.

The other three bodies played down their role, saying they did not contribute directly to policy and only answered or helped with parliamentary questions relating to their work.

But other social care leaders endorsed Rowe's claims.

British Association of Social Workers professional officer Bridget Robb said: "We are very concerned that there's a serious lack of expertise about social care services [in the DH]. We are just really grateful that [the four bodies] are there."


West Sussex social services director John Dixon put a more positive gloss on the situation, saying it reflected the DH's increasing willingness to listen to the sector.

A DH spokesperson said: "The department strives for a close and productive working relationship with a range of outside bodies. This work is, of course, in addition to the professional policy work that the department is engaged in as part of its normal functions."

Social care leaders also met DH heads last week in the first meeting of a forum intended to give the sector a bigger voice in government decisions.