Fitness to practise cases should take no longer than six months, say social workers

With Social Work England (SWE) anticipating a rise in fitness to practise case lengths, Community Care asked social workers how long is too long when it comes to fitness to practise investigations.

According to respondents to a recent Community Care poll that amassed almost 700 votes, the current case length – from referral to a decision on the practitioner’s fitness to practise – is already much too long.

When considering what would be a reasonable timeframe to thoroughly and fairly investigate an FTP case, almost three-quarters of social workers (73%) said up to six months, with a further 20% selecting six to 12 months

Four per cent said 12-18 months, 1% said 18 months to two years and just 2% chose two or more years, in line with Social Work England’s current average.

According to the report, SWE said that it will be considering “operational efficiencies” and new ways to resolve cases without progressing them to a hearing where appropriate, to help manage case delays.

SWE pledged to prioritise hearings based on risks that have been identified and to continue to “explore funding options” to increase capacity and reduce timescales for cases

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