Consultation outcome

Child and family social worker workforce

Applies to England

This consultation has concluded

Download the full outcome

Detail of outcome

A summary of responses received and the government’s response to the consultation and next steps.

The Department for Education commissioned IFF Research to conduct a full independent analysis of consultation responses, which can be seen in the consultation analysis.


Original consultation

Summary

We’d like your views on proposals to introduce national rules on the use of agency child and family social workers in local authority children’s social care.

This consultation was held on another website.

This consultation ran from
to

Consultation description

The independent review of children’s social care, published in May 2022, described the case to reduce overreliance on agency social work resource in order to provide more stable relationships for children and families and reduce costs.

This consultation invites views on a set of national rules on the engagement of agency social work resource covering:

  • price caps on what local authorities may pay for an agency worker
  • post-qualified experience needed for an agency assignment
  • use of project teams
  • references, notice periods, and movement between agency and substantive roles
  • collection and sharing of pay and agency data
  • adherence of procurement routes with the national rules

This consultation should be read alongside chapter 6 of Children’s social care: Stable Homes, Built on Love.

Additional formats and languages including Braille can be requested by emailing CSCstrategy2023.consultation@education.gov.uk.

Published 2 February 2023
Last updated 25 October 2023 + show all updates
  1. 'Child and family social worker workforce: consultation response' and 'Child and family social worker workforce: consultation analysis' have been added.

  2. First published.