The Department for Education (DfE) has increased Social Work England’s budget by 25%, providing an additional £5.2m for 2025-26 to help tackle fitness to practise backlogs. This funding raises the regulator’s revenue budget to £26.7m, up from £21.5m in 2024-25, with the increase coming entirely from the DfE.
If Social Work England’s proposed 33% increase in practitioner fees is implemented, it could provide an additional £1.1m in revenue.
The regulator is also planning a staffing expansion, with a particular focus on increasing personnel in its triage team to accelerate case assessments and hold more final hearings.
Addressing delays remains a key priority, as fitness to practise backlogs have worsened due to budget constraints, staff shortages, and the complexity of cases inherited from the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Over the years, the Department for Education (DfE) has provided additional funding to help tackle these challenges, including £1.9m in 2021-22, £5.5m in 2022-23, and £0.8m in 2023-24, primarily aimed at reducing fitness to practise delays.
Despite efforts to streamline processes, fitness to practise hearings have faced significant delays, with cases awaiting hearings rising from 378 in March 2024 to 412 in March 2025.
The regulator has also struggled with triage and investigations, with cases taking 24-33 weeks to complete triage in 2024-25, compared to 11-18 weeks in 2023-24.
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