Government has no plans to review level of social work bursaries despite nine-year freeze

The government has no plans to review the level of social work bursaries despite them having been frozen since 2014.

Care minister Helen Whately said the government did not intend to “assess the adequacy of social work bursaries for the forthcoming academic year”, 2023-24, in response to a written parliamentary question from Labour’s Emma Lewell-Buck.

Whately also said that ministers “had no plans to assess [the] distribution of and access to social work bursaries for 2023-24”, in response to a separate question from Lewell-Buck, who is a former social worker.

Bursary levels frozen since 2014

The responses mean that bursary levels for postgraduate and undergraduate students who receive one in 2023-24 will remain at the level they have been since 2014, since when they have lost significant value in real terms. For example, an undergraduate bursary would be worth £1,400 more per year within the capital, and £1,300 more outside London, had levels kept pace with inflation, according to the Bank of England’s inflation calculator (see graph).

The cap on the number of new bursaries introduced in 2013 – 2,500 a year for undergraduates and 1,500 for postgraduate university courses – will also stay in place, as will the bar on first-year undergraduates receiving an award. About 1,800 students started university postgraduate courses, and 3,280 undergraduate courses, in 2021-22, according to Skills for Care figures.

The difference between social work bursaries and the values they would be had they been adjusted in line with inflation since 2014.

Recipients on postgraduate courses, which last two years full-time, will get a basic £3,762.50 in London and £3,362.50 outside the capital, with more available for those on low incomes, and a £4,052 contribution to tuition fees (equivalent to about half the cost) per year. Second and third year undergraduates selected for a bursary will receive £4,862.50 outside London and £5,262.50 inside, with awards pro rated for part-time students. They are also liable for fees of £9,250 a year.

The support received by university students is far lower than that given to those on the three fast-track training schemes, Frontline, Step up to Social Work and Think Ahead, all of whom are guaranteed financial support, and pay no fees. The Step Up (£19,833) rate has been frozen since 2014 and Frontline has held its bursary levels – £18,000 outside London and £20,000 within the capital – since 2019. Think Ahead has increased its support level for its 2023-24 cohort to the level offered by Frontline, having previously offered £17,200 outside London and £19,100 within it. It takes students just over a year to qualify in each case.

Lewell-Buck is an ambassador for the Social Workers Union (SWU), and her question comes on the back of a campaign launched by the union and the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), of which SWU is a member, to boost the value of bursaries in England.

‘Disappointing’ government response

The union’s general secretary, John McGowan, said: “These questions in Parliament are the first step in our campaign and are designed to understand the government’s position on bursaries in England. It is disappointing that the government will not look at this structural unfairness, but from here we can now start to campaign for change to the existing system.”

Commenting on its campaign with SWU, BASW England professional officer Rebekah Pierre added: “How can social work students be expected to support others, when they themselves are desperately struggling to survive the cost-of-living crisis?

“Students are the future of social work, and without investing in them, the profession as a whole is put at risk. The time for well-meaning words is over – it is time for politicians to put their money where their mouth is.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are committed to supporting social workers in their education and training. We invest in Think Ahead – a graduate fast track programme to become a qualified social worker supporting people with mental health needs – and we provide financial aid to students to qualify through the social work bursary and education support grant [which funds practice placements].”

Pledge to invest in new training routes

In its 2021 social care white paper, People at the Heart of Care, the DHSC pledged to invest in new training routes for social workers in adults’ services, though it has not provided any detail on this since.

The DHSC spokesperson added: “In spring 2023, the government will publish a plan for adult social care system reform. This will set out how we will build on the progress so far to implement the vision for adult social care set out in the [2021] People at the Heart of Care white paper, including how we will support the workforce.”

On the children’s side, the Department for Education recently announced plans to create an extra 500 apprenticeship places for children and families social workers within local authorities but has not set out further details, including when this would be implemented.