Question reference: S6W-26779
- Date lodged: 9 April 2024
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Current status: Answered by Natalie Don on 23 April 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address concerns raised at the meeting of the National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy External Strategic Working Group on 29 February 2024 that "families are struggling to secure a social worker and, in turn, access support for transitions".
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to improving the experience of the social work workforce to ensure it is more sustainable in the longer term.
Whilst the social work workforce is primarily employed by local authorities who have a statutory duty to maintain an adequate workforce to meet the needs of their population and to fulfil their statutory duties in respect of social work, the Scottish Government has introduced measures to help address the challenges facing the profession.
This includes working jointly with COSLA and other key stakeholders to address the acute recruitment and retention challenges facing the profession; forming a joint Social Care & Social Work/Services Workforce Taskforce to explore opportunities to deliver improvements for the adult and children's social care and social work workforce; and creating a National Social Work Agency to provide a single national body with oversight of social work education, training and professional development, and the improvement of social work services.