SASW Meets Emma Roddick MSP

SASW National Director, Alison Bavidge met with Emma Roddick MSP this week to discuss our campaign to increase the mileage allowance rate for social workers.

Most local authorities allow social workers to claim back 45p per mile, which is the maximum non-taxable allowance set by HMRC. This rate is unchanged in ten years. Yet, the cost of fuel has increased by 30% in the last year alone and is likely to rise further still. The sums don’t add up.

Social workers need a mileage allowance rate that takes account of rising fuel costs and adequately covers their work travel costs.

SASW members in Ms Roddick’s constituency used our template letter to urge their MSP to meet with us on this important issue.

Ms Roddick confirmed her support for our campaign and agreed to raise the issue with both Scottish and UK Ministers to press for a fair increase.

We need the Scottish Government to fund local authorities to enable them to uplift the allowance, while the UK Government must raise the non-taxable allowance to 60p per mile.

24 MSPs, including Ms Roddick, have now signed Jackie Baillie’s motion in parliament calling for this essential uplift to be delivered. It’s reassuring we’re getting so much cross-party support but, there’s still a lot of MSPs who haven’t got on board yet.

Can you contact your MSP and lobby them to back our campaign? Use our template letter here.

You can also discuss this campaign with our Policy Officer on jonny.adamson@basw.co.uk