Take Action: Contact Your MP to Stop SWE’s Unfair Fee Increase

Social Workers deserve better. Stop the SWE Membership increase

The campaign against Social Work England’s plan to raise registration fees by 33% is growing. Almost 2,500 social workers have signed the petition, but we need to take the next step and make sure those in power hear us.

Why Contact Your MP?

Members of Parliament have the ability to challenge this fee increase and demand transparency. If enough of us reach out, they will have to take notice. This issue isn’t just about fees. It’s about the way social workers are treated and how little our work is valued by society. We take on huge caseloads, support people through life-changing situations, and often work in underfunded conditions. Yet instead of being supported, we are being asked to pay more just to stay in our jobs.

How to Contact Your MP in 3 Easy Steps

  1. Find your MP by entering your postcode here: Find Your MP
  2. Copy and paste the email template below into an email. Personalize it if you can.
  3. Send it today and tag your MP on social media to help spread the message.

Email Template to Send to Your MP

Subject: Help Stop Social Work England’s 33% Fee Increase

Dear [MP’s Name],

I am writing as a social worker or someone who supports the profession, and one of your constituents to raise concerns about Social Work England’s plan to increase registration fees by 33%. This adds even more financial pressure to a profession already struggling with high workloads and burnout.

From September 2024, SWE plans to raise fees from £90 to £120 per year. There has been no clear explanation for why social workers in England must pay so much more than colleagues in other parts of the UK:

  • Scotland & Wales: £80
  • Northern Ireland: £65
  • England (after increase): £120

This comes at a time when social workers are already underpaid and overworked. Instead of being supported, we are being asked to pay more just to continue doing our jobs.

SWE says the increase is needed to cover costs, including fitness-to-practice investigations, but many of these cases have been delayed for years. SWE also hires private solicitors at high costs, yet social workers are expected to cover the bill. There is no added support, no improved resources, just higher fees.

We need MPs to take action by:

  • Challenging this fee increase and demanding transparency from SWE
  • Finding alternative funding solutions that do not push the cost onto social workers
  • Raising this issue in Parliament to ensure social workers are valued and supported

More than 2,500 social workers have already signed a petition calling for fairness. We need your support to take this further before it’s too late.

Please consider raising this issue in Parliament, writing to the relevant ministers, or publicly opposing this increase.

Sign the petition here: https://chng.it/tkkc2Tgwxs

I would appreciate your response and any action you can take to stand with social workers.

Best regards,
[Your Name]
[Your Constituency]
[Your Contact Information]

Let’s Get This to Parliament

The more MPs who hear from us, the more pressure they will feel to act. If you’ve emailed your MP, let us know in the comments and share this with colleagues. Every message sent strengthens our fight for fairness.

Social workers give so much to society, yet we are constantly undervalued. This is our chance to demand respect and fairness. Let’s make our voices heard.

Social Work during the Covid19 Pandemic – Have attitudes changed towards the Profession *My personal insight*

At a time where many businesses, small and large around the globe have suffered financially or been forced to permanently close. Social Work is amongst one of the few professions which has in essence shown itself to be in greater need given the social, emotional and physical impact which the Pandemic is having on individuals and families. However what does this look like in theory for a profession which is too often broadcasted in the media spotlight negatively. Is Social Work receiving the positive attention which it rightly deserves?

Having worked throughout the Pandemic, I recall my initial feelings following the Prime minister’s, Boris Johnson’s first lockdown announcement in March 2020. ‘Fear’, ‘Uncertainty’ and a level of ‘Gratitude’ filled my mind being amongst an essential ‘key working’ profession, and allowed to continue to work despite many businesses being told to close. For many social workers, this highlighted the importance of our role, and meant a ‘Thank You’ for the work that we are about to do. However the new set of rules and regulations bought in by the government bought its own challenges to Social Work. With a lack of Local Authority PPE and a continued need for direct contact with families, how was this going to work in theory given the plight of the virus? At the same time more focused attention on medical professionals by the Government made it appear that the work which Social Workers were undertaking was redundant, although growing concerns were mounting around children living within abusive households resulting in campaigns run by Voluntary Organisations to raise awareness. A question which I ask is why weren’t Social Workers given similar levels of attention by the Government to highlight such issues?

Social workers alongside their multi agency colleagues have a duty to safeguard vulnerable children and families, with many having to embrace new and more innovative ways of working which significantly moved to virtual methods. For more avoidant and harder to reach families, the Pandemic was and is continuing to be used by some individuals as a means to mask underlying issues and to avoid contact, and work with services. Often social workers resorting in balancing their own safety with that of the vulnerable children and adults they work with when making decisions around the frequency of contact. The unfortunate truth is that this Pandemic has allowed me to first-hand witness its impact on children and their families evidenced by a higher number of suicide attempts, domestic violence incidents, homelessness, growing levels of isolation and social interactions with others leading to higher levels of Mental Health concerns. The question of whether the pandemic has exacerbated situations to deteriorate I would argue is by no means a topic of debate, as it has simply done so despite the efforts of Social Care Services in managing risk. The role the public plays has never been more important in ‘safeguarding’.

Whilst some efforts have been made by several National Organisations in recognising these efforts by the hosting of Virtual events held by BASW and Social Work Awards Team to celebrate the remarkable work which social workers are doing during difficult circumstances. A more wider Government acknowledgment would ultimately show recognition and appreciation of this work, alongside more regular Local Government support towards their workers. What will this achieve? For Social Workers, an inclination of wider scale Govt support will convey the message around the value of their work and boost momentum amongst individuals which can in turn support LA’s with their retention of social workers which continues to be an ongoing matter of concern.

As the UK has called a third National Lockdown, it is inevitable that the full scale impact of the pandemic is yet to come. With more businesses forced to permanently close resulting in financial worries, families spending more time indoors having an impact on the changing behaviours of individuals, limited social contact with others and much needed support services moving onto virtual forums impacting on the range of interventions they are able to offer their clients to effect change, risks are expected to increase in the given months and years to come. It is therefore a testing time for Social Work which continues on its difficult journey in safeguarding, supporting and enabling change to occur within families using limited resources available. A concern which I hope Local Councils and Government alike set in motion an action plan to tackle.

I would like to end on a note in asking you to keep a thought for the amazing work which Social Workers are doing despite the challenging circumstances in which we continue to work in. I have never been more prouder to be part of an important period of history in keeping vulnerable children and families safe.

Written by Ayesha Gayle

FOSW

About me

Faces of Social Work was created in June 2020 to empower, educate and uplift practitioners in the field of Social Work. I want to bring the many ‘faces of Social Work’ together and begin having much needed conversation on everyday issues which impacts on workers in their practice. With significant personal experiences, and over 8 years of experience working within the field of frontline child protection in over five Local Authorities, I can exponentially state that the same issues resonate in one way, shape or form in each borough which i have worked.

It is easy to lose focus on the reasons why you set out to become a SW within this field, which is why I have developed a body of useful blogs to support you in your practice development and the building of your ‘resilience’. For some, their real life experiences will influence the level of tolerance, however for many they will grapple with one of many challenges the profession faces.

I was intrigued to learn that the statistic of a social worker’s career is an average of 7 years in comparison to a doctors which is 25 years, yet this statistic falls short of much required intervention from authorities. Within 2 years of practice, I begun to understand exactly the reasons why these numbers are startling high, and why local Authorities across the UK struggle with their recruitment of social workers. There is a larger scale issue which is not spoken about, and i want to address those issues firstly through having open conversations. Unfortunately, my love for the profession was quickly overshadowed by the challenges of office politics, bullying culture, bureacreaucy, red tape and ‘over ambitous’ expectation of form filling. These are real issues which are still affecting real people on the field.

My goal is to bring the ‘faces of Social Work’ together to build Social cohesion through mutual understanding of these issues, thus creating a flow of discussion to occur firstly. My brand represents ‘togetherness’ in a field where there is a lot of divide, both structurally and through organisational culture. I will be providing a ‘fresh’ and ‘insightful’ perspective into the World of Social Work from my very privileged position as a ‘Social Worker’.

Please follow me on my Journey to effect much needed change in the profession 🙂

A forum to grow as Social Work Practitioners

Social Work is a vast field which connects many disciplines together from health, education and police services. It works with a wide variety of client groups supporting to effect and sustain change, improve lives and safeguard individuals from harm. When such a multitude of disciplines come together, there can be potential downfalls or successes. In social Work, there can often be varying degrees of understanding of one another’s role which can often interfere with ‘safeguarding effectively’. I have both worked within multidisciplinary settings, as well as Local Authority frontline settings. I have to share that there are advantages to both, however my experience have highlighted more positive working environments within a multidisciplinary setting for reasons I will discuss throughout my blog.

With new developments within the Social Work field such as that of the ‘Frontline’ programme, ‘Step up to Social Work’ and others, i will explore the fundamental principles which these programmes bring to the field, and how effective or ineffective they are to frontline child protection.

I will also talk about the organisational culture (bullying, bureaucracy and politics) which exists in the field , and support you in navigating through this. Alongside many other sensitive issues not discussed openly within the mainstream social work field.

I have created this website as a forum for social worker professionals to come together, to share, to learn, and to grow, but most importantly to begin having open communications about the everyday issues and battles which Social Workers experience everyday. I hope by having this open line of dialogue, we will prevent those on the verge of being ‘burnt out’. I will provide you with my insightful tips, knowledge through my firsthand experiences to support you in your journey to excellence!

FacesofSocialWork