Board changes at Social Work England

Lord Patel of Bradford OBE has announced he is stepping down as chair of Social Work England, the regulator for around 100,000 social workers in England.

Lord Patel was appointed by the Secretary of State for Education and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on 19 March 2018. He was reappointed in 2021.

Dr Andrew McCulloch has now been appointed as interim chair for a period of one year, whilst the recruitment for a substantive chair takes place. Dr McCulloch is an existing board member and was appointed to the board in 2018 in the start up phase of the organisation.

Under Lord Patel’s leadership, Social Work England, an arm's length public body, was created in partnership with the sector and went live in December 2019 as the new regulator. As a qualified social worker himself, with extensive experience of the challenges of the profession, Lord Patel’s appointment was well received.

His departure comes as the organisation looks to consolidate its progress since its launch with a new 3 year strategy aimed at driving further improvements in the social work sector. During his time as chair, Lord Patel has overseen new rules and regulations becoming law, a set of new professional standards for social workers and education providers, a robust fitness to practice process and new registration and CPD requirements. All of which have represented major steps towards the regulator’s objectives of raising standards in the profession to improve public safety and public confidence in social work.

Lord Patel said:

“Every day social workers are supporting millions of people in England to lead the best lives they can. Being chair of Social Work England has been particularly important to me having practised in the profession and witnessed first hand the challenges that communities face. This year I have decided to step back from a number of my commitments and I will really miss working with the organisation.

“I am extremely proud of the progress that Social Work England has made in its formative years and would like to thank everyone who has been instrumental in this. I am confident that by continuing its commitment to work with people with lived experience of social work, social workers, academics, employers, students and everyone with an interest in social work, Social Work England will make lasting change.”

Chief Executive Colum Conway said:

“On behalf of the board of directors and the whole organisation, I would like to express sincere thanks to Lord Patel. His work as chair of Social Work England was fundamental in steering the organisation towards being engagement led and he personally visited over 1000 people and organisations during our start up phase to ensure that our specialist approach was grounded in the reality of delivering social work practice. His commitment to social work and everyone who uses and works for the profession has been invaluable to the organisation.”

Dr Andrew McCulloch said:

“I have been deeply committed to social work and social care throughout my career both generally and in regard to people with mental health problems or learning disabilities. It has been a privilege to support Social Work England from its very beginning and witness its progress in bringing together the profession to drive change, raise standards in social work and raise the profile and standing of this vital profession. As we prepare to launch our strategy for 2023 to 2026 I look forward to working with all of our stakeholders to drive positive change.”

Full details of Dr McCulloch’s appointment will be published on the Department for Education Public Appointments website.