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The number of fitness to practise (FtP) cases lasting at least three years has doubled since 2023, Social Work England figures have shown.
While 150 cases had been open for more than three years as of 30 June 2023, this had grown to 294 a year later, showed data published in a report to the regulator’s July 2024 board meeting.
The number of cases open for at least a year grew from 828 to 1,052 during this time. Meanwhile, the average age of FtP cases that had a final outcome in April to June 2024 was 128 weeks – almost two and a half years – against an average of 110 weeks during 2023-24.
Hundreds of social workers ‘in limbo’
The news comes after the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), the Social Workers Union (SWU) and UNISON warned that “hundreds” of practitioners were being left in “limbo”- often unable to work – due to FtP delays, to the detriment of their mental health.
As at 31 August 2024, 113 social workers were subject to an interim suspension order, meaning they were unable to practise whilst awaiting the conclusion of their FtP case, according to data provided in a parliamentary answer by children’s minister Janet Daby.
Several others have restrictions placed on their working arrangements through interim conditions of practice orders. However, BASW, SWU and UNISON have reported that some employers are not hiring practitioners subject to an FtP case, even if there are no restrictions on their practice, a phenomenon Social Work England has acknowledged takes place.
In response to the latest data, SWU warned that practitioners and their families were “suffering as a consequence of ineffective processes”.
Social Work England said it acknowledged that “it [was] taking too long to resolve cases” and “recognised the distress this can cause to social workers and others involved”
Budget-driven limits on hearings numbers
The situation is driven primarily by limits on Social Work England’s capacity to hold final hearings, as a result of its level of funding from the Department for Education in 2024-25.
Hearings panels, which include at least a qualified social worker and a lay chair, determine whether a practitioner’s fitness to practise is impaired and, if so, what, if any, sanction should follow.
The latest data showed that social workers referred for a hearing had been waiting an average of 165 weeks (3 years and 2 months) from the point Social Work England received an FtP referral about them, as of 30 June 2024. Twelve months earlier this figure was 131 weeks.
The regulator carried out only 13 final hearings from April to June 2024, compared with 64 in the same quarter a year earlier.
And while 386 cases were awaiting a hearing as of 30 June 2024, the regulator only expects to carry out 35 hearings from April 2024 to March 2025.
The fitness to practise process
- Referral of concern: this could be from members of the public, employers, fellow practitioners or the social worker concerned themselves.
- Pre-triage: at this stage, Social Work England determines whether the case falls within its FtP remit by determining whether it relates to a statutory ground of impairment, such as misconduct, lack of competence or capability, a criminal conviction, adverse physical or mental health or not having the necessary knowledge of English.
- Triage: the regulator’s triage team determines if there are reasonable grounds to investigate the concerns and whether the concerns suggest the social worker’s fitness to practise is currently impaired. In 2023-24, 71% of cases were dropped at the pre-triage or triage stages.
- Investigation: two members of the investigations team gather evidence in relation to the fitness to practise concerns and then produce a report on their findings, which is shared with the social worker for their input, before being referred to case examiners.
- Case examiner stage: two examiners, one a professional social worker, look at the case and decide whether there is a realistic prospect that a hearing panel would find the practitioner under investigation’s fitness to practise impaired and, if so, whether a hearing would be in the public interest. If the former test is met, but the latter is not, and the case examiners decide that a sanction is appropriate, they will seek the social worker’s consent to impose this. Where the practitioner agrees, this is known as an ‘accepted disposal’.
- Interim orders: where there are serious concerns, investigators or case examiners may refer the practitioner for an interim order, if this is either in the social worker’s best interests or necessary for public protection. If a panel of at least two independent adjudicators agrees, they can impose an interim order, either suspending the person from practice or imposing conditions on their practice. Interim orders are reviewed by a panel every six months.
- Final hearings: a panel of at least two adjudicators, one a qualified social worker, hears the evidence and then determines if the social worker’s fitness to practise is impaired and, if so, whether it is in the public interest to impose a sanction. The sanctions (which are also available to case examiners through an accepted disposal) are: no further action; advice; a warning order; a conditions of practice order; a suspension order, and a removal order.
Challenges across the FtP process
As well as its limited capacity to hold hearings, Social Work England has faced challenges across the whole fitness to practise process.
The average age of cases at the triage stage was 24 weeks as of 30 June 2024, against a quarterly target of 21 weeks and up from 17 weeks a year earlier.
Social Work England has recruited to six people into new roles in the triage team and said that it expected this increased capacity to have an impact from October 2024 onwards.
Meanwhile, the average age of the investigations caseloads grew from 61 weeks in 68 weeks in the year to 30 June 2024, against a quarterly target of 60 weeks. Social Work England said this was due to a higher proportion of younger cases being concluded from April to June 2024 than usual, and a higher than average proportion of older cases being referred to the investigations team during this quarter.
It said it had undertaken targeted reviews of the 50 oldest cases, concluding 10 of them, from April to June 2024, and would continue to do this to ensure older cases were progressed appropriately.
At the case examiner stage, the average age of the caseload grew from 77 weeks to 100 weeks in the year to 30 June 2024, while the time taken to complete the process doubled from seven to 14 weeks, between April to June 2023 and the same quarter in 2024.
Social Work England said its performance in this area had been affected by long-term staff absence, one-sixth of cases being on hold pending information from the family courts and 31 cases having to be referred back to investigations in April to June 2024, compared with 23 in the equivalent quarter of 2023.
The regulator said the case examiner team was back up to full capacity and that it was looking to increase its size further “to ensure we continue to progress cases as quickly and fairly as possible”.
‘We know cases are taking too long’
Social Work England chief executive Colum Conway said the regulator handled FtP cases in line with its legal framework, which was designed “to ensure that the public remains protected, confidence in social workers is maintained and that social workers continue to meet their professional standards”.
Colum Conway, chief executive, Social Work England
He added: “We have seen improvements in the outcomes for people at the various stages of our fitness to practise process. However, we know that it is taking too long to resolve cases and recognise the distress this can cause to social workers and others involved.
“We continue to look at all options for ensuring that our resources are sufficient to carry out our responsibilities and look to make efficiencies and improvements where we can. Alongside this, we continue to hold as many final hearings as we can within our available resources and have communicated with those affected.”
Social workers ‘suffering the consequences of ineffective processes’
Social Workers Union assistant general secretary Calum Gallacher said SWU acknowledged that Social Work England was attempting to address the backlogs.
“Targeting the progression of oldest cases at the investigations stage and closing cases by way of no impairment or accepted disposal are a welcome practical step taken at present,” he said. “But what of the future? Systems in place are evidently not sustainable in the longer term.”
“Social workers and their families are suffering as consequence of ineffective processes. Little is changing to remedy the protracted delays regulated professionals are subject to,” Gallacher added. “There are damaging consequences for workforce morale and professional identity.”