Black social workers more likely to face fitness to practise investigations, Social Work England finds

Black social workers are significantly more likely than their white colleagues to progress through key stages of the fitness to practise process, according to new analysis published by Social Work England.

Community Care reported the findings have renewed discussion across the profession about fairness, equality and potential structural factors influencing fitness to practise outcomes for UK social workers.

Data released by Social Work England indicates that Black social workers are around one-and-a-half times more likely than white peers to progress through the triage stage of the fitness to practise process and approximately twice as likely to progress through case examination, even after relevant factors were taken into account.

Fitness to practise procedures are designed to investigate concerns about a registrant’s conduct, competence or health where there may be implications for public protection or confidence in the profession. While the process is a fundamental part of professional regulation, the latest figures have highlighted ongoing concerns about disproportionality within regulatory systems.

The findings build on previous Social Work England research that identified higher levels of representation within fitness to practise proceedings among social workers who are Black, male, or aged 40 and over. Earlier analysis found that social workers from Black, African, Caribbean and Black British backgrounds were overrepresented both in referrals received by the regulator and in cases progressing to a hearing.

Social Work England has previously stated that understanding diversity data is essential to identifying whether particular groups may be disproportionately affected by fitness to practise processes and to determining whether regulatory policies require further review. The regulator has said that additional research is needed to understand the underlying causes behind the differences identified in the data.

For social workers, the findings are likely to raise important questions about how concerns are reported, assessed and progressed through the fitness to practise system. Professional bodies and regulators across the healthcare and social care sectors have increasingly focused on disproportionality in fitness to practise investigations, recognising the potential impact that regulatory proceedings can have on practitioners’ careers, wellbeing and professional confidence.

The latest analysis does not conclude that bias exists at any particular stage of the process. However, it does indicate that disparities remain present and that further work is required to understand why Black social workers are more likely to progress through fitness to practise investigations and hearings than their white counterparts.

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