EU exit consultation
This consultation sets out the changes we needed to make to our rules to comply with the legislation made by the government and prepare for 1 January.
EU exit consultation
Introduction
The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020 and entered a transition period to negotiate a new relationship with the EU, including the recognition of professional qualifications. This transition period will end on 31 December 2020.
Prior to this date, Social Work England operates in accordance with the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive 2005 (European Union Directive 2005/36/EC on the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications, sometimes called ‘MRPQ’). The directive provides the framework under which members of the European Economic Area (the “EEA”, i.e. members of the EU, plus Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland) allows the professional qualifications of EEA nationals to be recognised in an EEA state other than the one in which the qualification was obtained.
When the transition period ends on 31 December 2020, the directive will be removed from many UK professional regulators’ legislation. Therefore, we do not have a continuing legislative basis for continuing to recognise EEA qualifications. This has been provided for in legislation by the UK government, The European Qualifications (Health and Social Care Professions) (Amendment etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, referred to in this document as the ‘EU Exit Regulations’.
As of 1 January 2021, we must instead consider EEA qualifications using our ‘international’ route to register. This consultation sets out the changes we needed to make to our rules to comply with the legislation made by the government and prepare for 1 January.
How we consulted
The changes made by the EU Exit Regulations to the Social Workers Regulations 2018 (’the regulations’) remove the dedicated route to registration for professional qualifications of EEA nationals, or individuals with EEA qualifications. To ensure that our ways of working comply with these changes we need to make amendments to our registration rules and fees rules. We proposed amendments that we considered were the only way in which to implement these changes.
Our regulations require us to consult when we make substantive amendments to our rules. We also wanted to reach those who may be affected by the amendments and sought their views on the changes we proposed.
We published a proposal of the amendments on our website, along with an accompanying consultation document, explaining the changes we would make. People and organisations were able to provide feedback for the EU exit consultation in two ways:
- We asked targeted questions in an online survey
- We invited feedback via email
In addition to making the consultation available on our website, we reached out to those groups listed below, to invite them to feedback on the changes:
- Registered social workers;
- Employers of registered social workers;
- People with lived experience of social work;
- People providing, assessing or funding education and training for registered social workers and prospective social workers; and
- Those who are likely to be affected by the proposed rules, i.e. applicants from the EEA.
Consultation methodology
We counted, read and analysed all responses to the consultation. We received 8 responses, 2 of which were from organisations.
In the online survey we asked 2 questions about the changes, with free text boxes to capture suggested proposals on how else we might apply the amendments, and whether people thought there should be any other amendments to our rules.
All the consultation feedback was considered and recorded, which helped us to review our registration rules and fees rules.
What you said
Here, we provide a summary of the feedback we received about the proposed amendments to our registration rules and fees rules.
Who responded
Most individual respondents described themselves as coming from a children’s social care background. The responses from organisations came from education providers.
Feedback
Respondents generally opposed the changes to the regulations made by the EU Exit Regulations but agreed that the amendments we proposed to the rules were necessary to comply with legislation.
Some respondents felt that EEA qualifications could continue to be recognised directly by us and that efforts should be made to retain mutual recognition of qualifications, at least in the case of social work. Others suggested that we should approve qualifications based on whether they would have been approved before the changes.
Some thought the proposal of scrutiny checks of all EEA awards with a fee of £495 was bureaucratic and should match the UK registration fee of £90.
All respondents agreed that there weren’t any other amendments that needed to be made to our rules to comply with the legislative changes.
To support the implementation of the changes, most respondents felt that clear communication, guidance and support from us would be key to helping all those affected.
Equality impact
Responses to whether the changes to the rules might have the potential to impact people based on protected characteristics were mostly ‘neutrally’ or ‘negatively’, though none thought they would affect them positively.
Some of those indicating that they felt there would be a negative impact expressed concerns that the new process for approval may be difficult for applicants with certain learning disabilities.
Others cited a shrinking professional pool, resulting in reduced inclusivity as potential negative outcomes. They did however, state that this was because of the changes made by the EU Exit Regulations, rather than our amendments to the rules.
What happens next
The consultation closed on 22 December 2020. We’ve carefully considered the feedback we received and have noted the importance of offering guidance and advice to the sector as we implement the changes to our registration process.
Some respondents queried why we are not continuing to recognise qualifications ‘directly’ for social work applications from the EEA (i.e. continuing to recognise the qualifications as before, notwithstanding the changes to the regulations). Recognition of professional qualifications is an important feature of the ongoing negotiations between the UK and EU. This is outside our control, but we are working closely with the Government to stay alert to the developments in the negotiations and stand ready to implement the arrangements of a negotiated outcome between the EU and UK. However, the regulations as they stand do not allow us to do this.
As all applications from the EEA will now be considered through our ‘international’ route, the fee associated with the additional scrutiny of those applications will be applied to all international applicants which is set out in our fees rules at £495.
Further changes
During the consultation, the (Health and Social Care Professions) (EFTA States) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (the ‘EFTA regulations’) were made, providing further rights for nationals of countries in the European Free Trade Association (‘EFTA’, i.e. Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) to continue to have their qualifications recognised in the UK.
To reflect the EFTA regulations, and the other savings provisions in the EU Exit Regulations, we have added a new registration rule 64. This rule means that, when an individual applicant (for example, a Swiss social worker wishing to apply to join the register in the next four years) has the right to apply under the regulations as they were before the end of the transition period, the rules as they were before the end of the transition period will also apply.
The amended rules
The amended registration rules and fees rules are now available online. We have also made amendments to relevant guidance to ensure it is compliant with the changes. You can read our guidance here.
We’ll continue to work with social workers, employers, people with lived experience and other people with an interest in social work to explain any changes to our work as we move into 2021.
Last updated: 22 December 2020