Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support his Department provides for local authorities to share best practice on adult social work.

Alistair Burt

Raising the quality and consistency of social work practice remains a priority for the Department and for Government. We continue to provide local authorities with the tools and resources to enable them to share good practice.

Principal Social Workers are now in place in nearly every local authority and a number of National Health Service trusts, responsible for strong practice leadership in their organisations. They are supported by strong national and regional networks, with links to regional Association of Directors of Adult Social Services networks, helping to identify and share good social work practice. A statement on the role and the responsibility of local authorities to appoint a principal social worker in adult social care, has been included in revised statutory guidance accompanying the Care Act, which the Department published on 10 March.

In addition, the Department is working with Skills for Care and the Social Care Institute for Excellence to assist local authorities in the implementation of the Care Act and the sharing of best practice across the whole of the adult social care sector, including social work.