World Social Work Day (WSWD) celebrates social work, social workers, and the contribution our profession makes to society. This year the Social Workers Union (SWU) and the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) took this celebration to Westminster with the second meeting of the Cross-Party Group for Social Work.
As reflected by this year’s WSWD theme of Harambee or “pulling together”, we are co-building a parliamentary space to promote dialogue with decision makers, solidarity with social work, and our joint campaign’s asks to improve working conditions for social workers.
This event was a valuable opportunity for SWU and BASW to gather more political support for our “Stronger Social Work, Better Lives” campaign; the more politicians we have on board, the stronger our case to the government! You can read more about the campaign asks and the launch of the CPG here: https://swu-union.org.uk/2025/10/swu-and-basw-launch-new-cross-party-group-to-focus-on-social-work-issues-at-westminster
SWU would like to especially thank Cross-Party Group for Social Work chair Ian Byrne MP and his team who arranged the lovely Jubilee meeting room for the event at no cost and encouraged colleagues to support SWU and BASW’s campaign.
Ian Byrne MP said,
“Social workers play a huge role in our society, supporting some of the most vulnerable children and adults during the most challenging periods in their lives. We expect them to deal with issues, many of which are created by the structural disadvantage baked into our society. As parliamentarians, we have a duty to meet with them, to listen to them and work with them to help solve the underlying causes of cyclical poverty, such as a shortage of decent housing and equal access to good education and quality jobs. As Chair of the Cross-Party Group for Social Work, I am delighted to support this crucial opportunity for social workers on World Social Work Day.”
A huge thank you also goes to SWU Ambassador Professor Jermaine Ravalier at Buckinghamshire New University for generously donating the catering for the event.
Jermaine is a lead author of Reflective Supervision: A Best Practice Guide, which is practical and co-developed guidance for social workers receiving reflective supervision, and those facilitating the supervision session. You can download a free copy of this guide here: https://swu-union.org.uk/resources-training/swu-bnu-reflective-supervision-best-practice-guide-2024
We are thrilled to have the support and opportunity to run these high impact events in Westminster at a low cost to our membership.
Our members spoke directly to MPs about their working conditions and concerns.
In order to achieve a better supported, valued, and understood social work profession it is vitally important that policymakers hear from social workers directly. A group of SWU and BASW members spoke to MPs about their social work practice, how they support individuals and communities on a daily basis, and the workforce challenges that they want to see addressed.
Tricia Hunte, a social worker from London, said that some social workers on the frontline were experiencing burnout because they are working under a state of anxiety and pressure, with insufficient clinical supervision. She warned MPs that this resulted in social workers “escalating through the ranks”, experiencing burnout, and leaving the profession. She called on MPs to support the profession so that “we don’t lose society’s safety net”.
Chrissie Beatty, SWU Vice Chair and a social worker from Bournemouth, called on MPs to recognise social workers as a “pillar of society”.
The group of practising social workers from across the UK, many with over twenty years of experience, told MPs of their love of the job and their commitment to serve their communities but warned that there is a need to protect the workforce and make social worker wellbeing a priority. Social workers said that with more families facing crisis and dementia diagnosis increasing, the demand for support is rising fast.
We were also joined at the event by Minister for Children & Families in England Josh MacAlister MP who meet with some of our members and, in his speech, spoke about the history of social work with reference to Clement Attlee’s book The Social Worker published in 1920 and about how we are still wrestling with some of the same questions today.
The social worker audience was delighted to hear the Minister say that the Government would be investing in professional development for social workers, especially those going into the field for the first time. He expressed concern about new social workers routinely being left to figure things out for themselves without the necessary structure and support.
SWU and BASW called for all parliamentarians to support social workers by developing a robust recruitment and retention strategy to prevent soaring caseloads and social worker burnout.
John McGowan, General Secretary of SWU said:
“Despite increasing pressures such as limited resources and high workloads, many social workers remain deeply committed to supporting vulnerable individuals, families, and communities. SWU thanks all the MPs and Peers who have joined our Cross Party Group and we look forward to working with them in the coming months to help us ensure that the recruitment and retention of registered social workers becomes a parliamentary priority.”
Chief Executive of BASW, Prof Sam Baron said:
“Social workers are uniquely placed to champion people’s dignity, rights, social justice, and inclusion at times of uncertainty in their lives and when their communities and networks feel at risk of fracture. That responsibility never feels more critical than at present.
“We mustn’t forget, today is also a day to celebrate social work’s successes and to recognise the vast contributions of social workers in the UK and around the globe. We pay tribute to the importance of social work values this and every day.”
SWU and BASW are grateful that Ministers are listening and engaging so strongly with us. We look forward to continuing this important relationship over the course of this parliament to help bring about vital improvements to our profession that social workers desperately need to see.
Early Day Motion (EDM 2927)
Thank you Cross-Party Group for Social Work chair Ian Byrne MP for your tireless support for and solidarity with the social work profession and for working with SWU and BASW to table the World Social Work Day Early Day Motion #2927. We are thrilled this EDM that recognises the important role of social workers across the UK and calls for better support for the social work profession is quickly gaining signatures: https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/65430
This EDM represents a significant milestone in our campaign for improved working conditions as the more MPs we can get to sign it, the more pressure is applied on the government to respond. It’s encouraging to see 30 MPs have already added their support, we need to keep applying pressure on the powers that be if we are to affect the change that social workers desperately need to see.
Has your MP signed the motion yet? If not, ask them to: https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP
If you would like to be involved in supporting SWU and BASW’s work with the Cross-Party Group for Social Work please contact us at: campaigns@swu-union.org.uk
