Joint Statement on Social Work England

BASW, the Social Workers Union (SWU) and UNISON jointly express deep concern over Social Work England’s recent decision to implement a 33% increase in the annual registration fee for social workers - from £90 to £120 - effective from 1 September 2025, with further planned increases through to 2029.

This decision has provoked widespread dismay across the profession. Notably, 96% of respondents (nearly 8000 registrants) opposed the increase.  Justified concerns were also echoed by the Adult Principal Social Worker Network and Principal Children and Families Social Worker Network.

Despite this overwhelming response from registrants, the regulator has chosen to proceed without significant revision or concession, calling into question its commitment to transparency, accountability, and genuine stakeholder engagement.  On the Social Work England website (‘‘What we will do”), it states that whilst 8,000 responses were received, this is less than 8% of registrants.  The assumption appears to be that if people did not respond then they were accepting of the proposals.  This is a dubious process for decision-making.  It also disregards the collective responses BASW, SWU and UNISON each submitted after consulting our thousands of social worker members who told us they strongly objected to the proposals.

Our members feel Social Work England’s consultation gave a false impression that their opinion really mattered when all along the intention was to disregard their views and add pressure to an already struggling profession.

Social Work England’s approach, in not amending its plans, contrasts to the approach adopted by the Scottish Social Services Council which recently softened planned fee rises following a consultation that also generated significant opposition.

Social Work England, as a non-departmental public body receiving substantial government funding, must be held to a high standard of public duty. Ongoing delays in its Fitness to Practise processes and a growing perception among registrants of poor value for money only compound concerns. Many social workers report a widening disconnect between the regulator and the realities of frontline practice.

The fee increase comes during a time of exceptional financial pressure for social workers and against the backdrop of an escalating recruitment and retention crisis. We fear this decision will drive more professionals out of the sector, further jeopardising vital services and the safeguarding of vulnerable children and adults.

We therefore call for the following urgent actions:

1. Intervention by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA): 
   Call for Action - The PSA must review both the process and outcome of Social Work England’s consultation and assess whether the regulator has fulfilled its statutory duties with the necessary levels of transparency, accountability, and proportionality.  We will continue to raise this with the PSA in our regular meetings with them.
2. Immediate commencement of the Statutory 5-Year Review:
   Call for Action - Under Section 64 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017, an independent review of Social Work England’s operations should have begun by now, with the five-year review period starting on 2 December 2019. Had the review been completed in a timely way, this could have informed the decision on the additional funding requested by Social Work England and their decision not to review 2.5% of registrants continuous professional development submissions for 2 consecutive years.  This undermines the public safety measure “promote public protection”.  We urge the Secretary of State for Education to commission this review without further delay, and in accordance with the legal requirement to consult representatives of social workers in England.  We will continue to monitor this situation.
3. Parliamentary scrutiny and government response:
   Call for Action - We urge Members of Parliament to raise these issues in Parliament, questioning the rationale behind the fee increase, the lack of pre-announcement stakeholder involvement, delays to the statutory review, and the dismissal of the views of several thousand respondents.
4. Comprehensive evaluation of Social Work England’s Performance:
   Call for Action - The forthcoming independent review must examine the effectiveness, value for money, and operational performance of the regulator. It should pay particular attention to the Fitness to Practise process, where we continue to see unacceptable delays - with some registrants informed that hearings will not be scheduled until after March 2026. These delays have serious emotional, financial, and professional impacts on social workers.  We have previously highlighted the detrimental physical, emotional and financial impact for BASW, UNISON and SWU members who experience delays with Fitness to Practise processes.  Members continue to be advised in writing of further delays and final hearings not taking place ‘until after March 2026’, this remains an intolerable and unacceptable situation - especially following the additional financial investment from central government. 

We encourage all social workers that have concerns to raise their voices and write to:

• Your MP. Ask them to raise these issues with the Secretary of State for Education, Minister for Women and Equalities, and the Prime Minister.  Please include your postcode and what you are personally experiencing in your letter.
• Secretariat Leads, Independent Review of Social Care Regulation
• Professional Standards Authority 

The voices of social workers and the organisations representing them must be heard. The future of the profession and the people we serve depends on it.

We remain committed to working in the interests of the profession, the public, and the principles of fair and accountable regulation.

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss our concerns with Social Work England, PSA, Department for Education and other relevant stakeholders.