Response to DHSC consultation 'Leading the NHS: proposals to regulate NHS managers'

17 Feburary 2025

We welcome the opportunity to comment on the Department of Health and Social Care’s (‘the Department’s’) consultation ‘Leading the NHS: proposals to regulate NHS managers’. As the specialist regulator for social workers in England and the newest professional regulator in the health and care sector, our own journey has been informed by a vision of modern, proportionate, and effective regulation.

We were established by the Children and Social Work Act 2017, and the Social Workers Regulations 2018 set out the detail of our regulatory framework. We hold the professional register for all social workers in England, set the professional standards we expect them to meet and investigate concerns about fitness to practise. We’ve also introduced education and training standards to ensure that students who successfully complete an approved course can meet our professional standards.

Consultation feedback

We have not provided answers to the consultation questions provided by the Department. Instead, we are offering comments on some areas of the consultation and share some of our own experiences of regulation.

As a professional regulator we are supportive of the introduction of regulation and welcome the opportunities it presents in supporting more consistency in the quality of a profession to support better protection of the public.

A professional register

We see many benefits to introducing a register and professional regulation that would apply to NHS leadership, including those listed in the Department’s policy proposal.

We note that the consultation document explains the meaning of protected title in the context of professional regulation. ‘Social worker’ is a protected title and although social workers can practice in a wide variety of roles, much of the work they do involves carrying out statutory functions that can only be performed by a social worker. Protecting the title of social worker ensures that only those with the appropriate skills and knowledge are able to carry out those functions. Public protection is the core purpose of any professional regulator, and dealing with title misuse is an important part of our duty to ensure that public protection. Introducing a protected title also protects registrants from impersonation and protects the reputation of the profession.

As well as providing a means for concerns to be addressed, whether through a fitness to practise process or barring model, setting tailored professional standards may help prevent some concerns from arising in the first place as registrants have a better understanding of their role, what is appropriate and what is expected.

In addition to the benefits set out by the Department, professional regulation also provides the ability to look across all concerns raised to identify developing trends in poor practice and deploy resources to address these trends, or hold a mirror up to the profession so that others may take action. Whether the regulator has a role to play in supporting national workforce planning or not, holding a professional register gives them a unique position and perspective on the whole profession, enabling them to use the data and intelligence they hold about the workforce to inform wider strategy.

Professional standards for managers

We support the Department’s proposal that any professional standards should cover the values, behaviours and competencies that managers will be expected to demonstrate.

Our professional standards are the threshold standards necessary for safe and effective practice. They set out what a social worker in England must know, understand and be able to do after completing their social work education or training and are the threshold standards necessary for safe and effective practice. The standards apply to all registered social workers in all settings and in all roles, including those in managerial or supervisory roles. They are grouped under 6 headings:

1. Promote the rights, strengths and wellbeing of people, families and communities
2. Establish and maintain the trust and confidence of people
3. Be accountable for the quality of my practice and the decisions I make
4. Maintain my continuing professional development
5. Act safely, respectfully and with professional integrity
6. Promote ethical practice and report concerns.

We have also written guidance intended to support social workers to understand the standards and to uphold them in their practice. We do not provide tailored guidance for social workers in managerial roles.

We’re now starting to build our knowledge of some of the specialist and advanced roles carried out by social workers, such as practice educators. This will inform and support the critical role they play in preparing social work students for practice as we explore potential and proportionate levers for regulatory oversight.

Revalidation

We note the department’s considerations around revalidation. At Social Work England we operate an annual registration renewal process. Though not called revalidation, it involves similar requirements, including a declaration that the registrant continues to meet the professional standards, and that they can continue to practise safely and effectively. It also allows us to demonstrate to the public that as part of maintaining registration, social workers are keeping their skills and knowledge up to date through their continuing professional development (CPD). Standard 4 of our professional standards sets out our expectations of how social workers should maintain their CPD.

We chose to move from a biannual to an annual process when we took over regulation of the profession from the HCPC. We felt this was important as it provides the public with regular assurance that registrants meet the requirements to remain on the register and gives registrants regular contact with the regulator. We believe this is important for the development of the profession, so that they are familiar with the concept of being regulated and to keep CPD at the forefront of their thinking. This would be an important tool for a new profession of workforce being regulated.

Dual registration

The consultation document highlights that some individuals may be required to register with 2 professional regulators. We are keen to explore the scope of any potential regulation of social workers in leadership positions, within the NHS or wider social care sector. As set out above, anyone practising under the protected title of ‘social worker’ must be registered with us regardless of whether they appear on another professional register.

Duty of Candour

As stated in the consultation document, it is important to consider the types of duties and standards that registrants should be required to demonstrate. While there is no statutory duty of candour on social workers, we do set standards around promoting ethical practice and reporting concerns and registrants’ fitness to practise can be investigated where these standards are not met. We expect social workers to be open and honest with people, including when something goes wrong or has the potential to cause physical, emotional, financial or any other harm or loss. Duty of candour also applies to being open and honest with colleagues, employers and relevant organisations, including Social Work England.

I hope the department finds this feedback helpful.

Yours sincerely

Colum Conway

Chief Executive