Review must consider wider team

The Scottish executive’s 21st century working group on social work
is focusing too much attention on qualified social workers, it was
claimed.

Delegates pointed out that much of the work was carried out in
multi-agency teams or in joint structures by staff without social
work qualifications.

Focusing on the role of the social worker in isolation would not
give a true picture of the job, they said.

Kate Vincent, director of social work services policy at the
Scottish executive, insisted that the review was “already wide and
looking at a variety of social worker roles and allied
professions”. She added that its aim was to provide social workers
with resources and a legal framework for the next 30 years.

Duncan MacAulay, interim director of Edinburgh Council, said that
it would be a “mistake to review social work on its own”.