BASW Council

BASW is governed by an elected Board of Directors who are all members and social workers

The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) is an independent organisation, which is governed by Council. A Board of Directors who are all BASW members and social workers.

BASW Council

Council is the governing body of BASW. BASW Council works as a team, with a balance of skills, experience, background and knowledge, in order to be as effective as possible.

Every Director of Council is a current member of the Association and have the well-informed understanding of social work practice required to promote and represent the voice of our membership. Every year, we review the skills our members bring to Council and the Committees.

This forms part of a review process to assess how effective our governance structure is and to identify any skills gaps that might exist. We also check our ways of working, to ensure we align with our Articles and our Code of Ethics

Council members are Directors and liable for the management, governance and strategic direction of the Association. BASW is governed in accordance with our constitution: Articles of Association.

BASW Articles of Association

BASW is run according to a set of rules, or constitution, that sets out what our objectives are and how the organisation works. This constitution is known as our Articles of Association.

Update to the BASW constitution

On 20th March 2018 BASW formally adopted a modernised update to its constitution.

This followed a process in which members contributed to the review through surveys, focus groups, consultations and an invitation to an Additional General Meeting.

Our new constitution aims to promote BASW as an outward facing organisation that is an even better champion of social work, social workers and the people we work with.

The Articles were revised at the 2020 AGM to allow the Association to hold virtual/hybrid general meetings.

The Articles were revised at the 2022 Extraordinary General Meeting.

BASW Articles of Association (630.29 kB)

Council members are elected each year at the Annual General Meeting. The Council is supported by a Finance & Organisational Development Committee, a Policy, Ethics and Human Rights Committee, International Committee and National Standing Committees in each country of the UK.

Council meeting dates 2024

7 February
8 May
10 July
16 October

Minutes and reports (member content)

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BASW AGM

Annual General Meetings allow members to hold Council to account, vote in new Council members, accept audited accounts and vote upon issues of policy, strategy and constitution

Current members

Council is the governing body of BASW and Council members are personally liable for the sound management of the Association as Directors. Find out more about the current members by visiting our Council biographies page.