Hilton Dawson, the chief executive of the British Association of Social Workers, has mounted a typically robust response to a debate on our CareSpace forum about BASW's involvement in the national college of social work. In a thread entitled "When will BASW make up their mind over the national college of cocial work?", Dawson says: "This isn't about BASW. It's about ensuring that we have a UK (not national) College which can drive the fundamental transformation that the profession of social work needs."
Dawson originally raised concerns over potential government interference in the national college, which ministers are committed to supporting following the recommendation by the Social Work Task Force. He added that it could "become another quango".
Then BASW's council voted to go ahead with supporting the project, before Dawson posted a statement on the association's website suggesting they could even launch their own "independent" college after becoming disillusioned by the way the negotiations were going.
Dawson added that the college "must be independent and strong", and finished his post with an unexpected apology: "Sorry if we're boring Community Care but however we do it BASW are going to get this right."
Don't worry Hilton, you're not boring us. On the contrary, your steadfast commitment towards an independent college is what's keeping the reform story alive!
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