BASW achieves milestone campaign win at Westminster for members

The Home Office has confirmed that Overseas Qualified Social Workers will be exempted from the UK Government’s new 10-year route to permanent settlement. The move will come as relief to our overseas qualified members, who have faced months of speculation and uncertainty.

When the proposals were first announced a year ago, there was no indication from Ministers that overseas Social Workers would qualify for remaining on a 5-year pathway to permanent settlement, prompting widespread anxiety across the profession. 

BASW members were vocal in raising this issue with us, and we were quick out the blocks to escalate the matter with the Home Office, warning them of the serious risks this policy would have on Social Work across the UK, especially around recruitment and retention and sustainability of public services.

BASW took the fight to Parliament

Earlier this year, we handed in a petition to the Home Office calling on the UK Government to retain the 5-year pathway to qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain. Thank you to everyone who added their voice!

We also secured the support of two backbench MPs – Cat Smith MP and Neil Duncan-Jordan MP – who tabled multiple questions in parliament for us to press for clarity from Home Office Ministers about when and if they would grant the ‘public service discount’ for overseas qualified Social Workers.

Throughout this time, BASW also stayed in regular correspondence with Home Office officials, continuing to persuade them to change their mind. It even led to the then Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer acknowledging our campaign publicly and agreeing to re-consider the policy.

A milestone moment in the campaign

Months of pressure and interventions from BASW has culminated in a hard-fought win on behalf of our members and the wider profession across the UK.

Updating parliament on the Earned Settlement Scheme this week, the Home Secretary finally announced that Social Workers will not be affected by the new proposals and instead will receive an exemption as a skilled public service role.

Thank you!

This week’s victory is a powerful demonstration of the impact and influence that our members have through their professional association.

Without members getting in touch to air their views, agreeing to share their experiences with us, and adding their voice to our petition, our case to the Home Office would have been significantly weaker. 

It is thanks to our members that we were able to build up a robust evidence base on which to press for change. Your efforts have been recognised at the very top of government.

Of course, the bigger BASW is, the greater our impact will become. We want to have even more significant campaign moments like this one. If you’re not a member yet, join us and help to strengthen Social Work’s voice in the spaces that matter across all four nations in the UK.