BASW to Minister: Time for honest dialogue on student bursaries

BASW has written to Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt MP to urge action on social work bursaries. Social work students say they have been left in limbo by the Department of Health’s delay in processing bursary applications for the next academic year, due to begin in September.

According to a report in Community Care magazine, the Department of Health is committed to social work bursaries for the 2016 academic year, but the government is “considering scrapping the financial support for future years”. Ministers have promised a consultation on bursaries later this year.

BASW Chief Executive Dr Ruth Allen said: “We are hearing anecdotally from both students and academics that this delay in allocating bursary funding is reducing the number of students able to take up their place on mainstream university courses. While we have seen a rise in the number of places available on ‘fast track’ schemes, universities remain the backbone of training provision. The current situation with bursaries does nothing to reassure social work students or academics that they are valued by government”.

Read BASW’s letter to the Minister in full HERE