BASW England Chair calls for a nationwide social work recruitment campaign
BASW England Chair, Vava Tampa was on BBC Breakfast on Saturday warning that the cost-of-living crisis is placing serious and soaring demands on social work services.
Vava explained why social workers urgently need more resources to help them stem the tide of rising caseloads which are being exasperated by the increasing cost of living pressures facing individuals and families.
That’s why BASW UK is urging the UK Government to provide more support for people hardest hit by the cost-of-living crisis and greater investment in social work to improve recruitment and retention across the profession. We cannot continue down the path of unfeasibly high caseloads.
Our main asks include:
- A nationwide recruitment campaign, funded and coordinated centrally by Government for social work.
- An immediate increase in car mileage allowance. We don’t need anymore barriers to face-to-face social work and good practice so this is something that employers and Government need to sort out between themselves quickly.
- Increase student bursaries for university placements. They have been frozen for years and we need to properly fund the next generation of social workers
It’s high time social workers are given the respect they deserve.
The UK Government should also be doing more to prevent people from falling poverty. Many people have been suffering under austerity measures for 12 years. We must reverse this trend and ensure that nobody struggles to afford basic essentials.