The General Election: will social workers get what they want?

Kerri Prince, BASW UK’s political lead, looks at the key asks – and potential responses
A ballot box

We’re still weeks away from election day, which means there's a while before we find out what the UK political parties are offering voters ahead of going to the polls on 4 July. 

Prospective governments will not want to commit to billions of pounds of expenditure before they’ve even entered office. But with the first lot of votes being cast via post within the next couple of weeks the parties can’t afford to not offer anything.

Earlier this year, BASW UK published our ‘It’s Time to Get It Right’ 2024 Election Manifesto which has 40 policy asks. 

These included asylum, mental health, poverty, and social care policies. Out of these 40, we have identified five key policies we believe are essential for the next UK government to prioritise. 

Scrap the two-child limit and benefit cap (UK)

Both the two-child limit and benefit cap carry responsibility for pushing people into poverty and trapping them there. They intentionally weaken the UK’s social security system by rationing the support it makes available, failing low-income individuals and families who depend on it the most.

  • The Conservatives introduced the two-child limit on benefits, so don't expect them to promise to scrap it. 
  • While there are supporters of scrapping the two-child limit among Labour MPs, it isn’t party policy and Keir Starmer has said that Labour wouldn’t scrap it. 
  • The Liberal Democrats, the SNP and Green Party oppose the two-child limit.

Repeal the Illegal Migration Act (UK)

This legislation creates a separation between unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) and children born in the UK which contravenes basic principles of human rights and contradicts existing domestic legislation such as the Children Act 1989. 

We also fear that knowing they will be deported at 18, UASC will be more likely to go missing from care and be at risk of abuse by traffickers. 

The Act makes provision for UASC who refuse to undergo a biological method to determine age (such as an x-ray or MRI) to be considered as over 18 and deported.

  • The Conservatives brought in this legislation just last year and are not positioning themselves to abolish it. 
  • Labour called the legislation ‘a con and a sham’, but we’ve yet to establish whether they’d go as far as repealing the Act. 
  • The Liberal Democrats, Green Party, and SNP have also opposed the legislation. 

Increase the non-taxable mileage rate (Great Britain) 

Historically the non-taxable allowance of 45p a mile has been used by employers across the UK to allow social workers and social care staff to claim back for using their car for work purposes.

This amount has remained unchanged since 2011. Yet the cost of fuel has increased by 20 per cent over the past five years alone, and the cost of living has risen sharply. 

BASW and SWU are calling for the rate to be increased to 60p a mile. 

  • The Conservatives have refused to increase the rate.
  • Labour haven’t engaged on the issue yet.
  • The SNP have urged the UK government to address the matter. 
  • The Green Party have not commented on this policy, nor have the Liberal Democrats. 

Introduce a new Mental Health Act (England and Wales)

A new Mental Health Act is long overdue, and there has been some progress in making this a reality. The former UK government introduced a Draft Mental Health Bill that went to a parliamentary committee to be considered ahead of it becoming a proper bill. 

  • The current Conservative government did not include it in the 2023 Kings Speech, and it was given no parliamentary time. 
  • The Labour Party has committed to bringing in a new Mental Health Act in its first term. 
  • The Lib Dems and Green Party do not appear to have committed specifically to bringing in a new Act, but they do have many policies about improving mental health. 

Student bursaries in England

Student bursaries for social workers in England are currently distributed unequally and only around one in six students benefit from them. Where bursaries are available, the funding for them has been frozen for over eight years, resulting in a real terms cut in support for many students.

The campaign led by SWU and BASW England is clear - unless social work student bursaries are better funded, many more students will drop out of social work courses or not bother to enter the profession at all.

  • The Conservatives have no plans to assess the adequacy of student bursaries. 
  • Labour have not made any comment on the issue. 
  • SWU, SASW and BASW Northern Ireland have joint campaigns ongoing to improve social work student bursaries in Scotland and Northern Ireland. However, given that it’s a devolved matter, the decision whether to increase funding support for social work students in those nations lies at Holyrood and Stormont, rather than Westminster. 

When the parties release their manifestos, BASW will analyse what they are offering. Until then, we’ll be watching the televised debates to get a sense of what the leader’s priorities are. Watch this space!

Other key reform calls

Working conditions (England)

Excessive caseloads, lack of resources, stress, long hours, unpaid overtime and high vacancy rates have left the social work workforce in crisis in many parts of the UK.

The issues have been regularly highlighted in workforce surveys and reports, including by BASW and SWU and regulator Social Work England.

BASW is calling on the next government to undertake a comprehensive review of the pay, terms and working conditions of social workers in England. It also wants to see a national recruitment strategy to promote the profession and a recruitment campaign.

A review of caseloads should take place aimed at increasing the time social workers spend in direct contact with service users rather than administrative tasks. An anti-racism taskforce should also be created.

Children’s social care (England)

Children’s social care has risen up the political agenda in recent years in the face of a growing looked after population.

Part of the government’s solution has been to refocus on early intervention through its family hubs agenda, though investment is relatively small compared to the Sure Start programme started in the late 90s.

England’s Independent Review of Children’s Social Care recommended £2.6 billion investment but the government only pledged £200 million over two years.

BASW’s manifesto calls for the review’s funding recommendation to be implemented, including more cash for foster, residential and kinship care to “move away from an overreliance on expensive private care services”.

Our manifesto also calls for care experience to be made a protected characteristic under the Equality Act, as recommended by the review, children’s rights campaigners and increasingly being adopted by local authorities.

BASW supports calls by children’s rights charity Article 39 and other campaigners for looked after 17 and 18-year-olds to be afforded the same care rights as younger children.

Community care (England)

Too many people with learning disabilities and autistic people are in mental health hospitals rather than the community. Latest figures for England show there were 2,015 in such settings at the end of April, far off a government target of around 1,450 by March this year. 

BASW is calling for more community-based accommodation and for people with learning disabilities and autistic people to have a named social worker to advocate for them.

Housing (England)

Insecure housing leading to homelessness is one of the biggest social evils of the time, exacerbated by the cost of living crisis. BASW is calling for a ban on no-fault evictions, where private landlords can issue a section 21 notice to evict tenants at short notice.

  • The Conservative government introduced legislation to ban no-fault evictions but it did not make any progress. 
  • The Labour Party has committed to banning no fault evictions.