Government responds to Community Care social work petition

The reply is a comprehensive one, showing they have given some thought to the issues raised in the petition and the 6,015 people who signed it.

It begins:

The Government has been very clear and consistent in its support for social workers and its appreciation for the contribution they make.  However, we would not intervene over what any particular newspaper or magazine chooses to publish, as the press in Britain are not subject to state intervention, and the Government believes that this is fundamental to our democracy.

Sadly there are no words of censure for The Sun's coverage following the Baby Peter case, which prompted the petition but the response does recognise the difficult job social workers do and the fact their role is much misunderstood by the public.

Many successes in social work go unnoticed and when things go wrong, whatever the reason, headlines are made.

The response ends by saying that media coverage, even in The Sun, has been positive towards the government's recent Be The Difference social work recruitment campaign.

But I'd be interested in hearing what you think about the government's response.