Children’s Minister, Josh MacAlister joined MPs and social workers to celebrate World Social Work Day in Parliament on Tuesday 17th March
World Social Work Day celebrates social work and social workers around the world, and the contribution they make to society.
Josh MacAlister listened to social workers speaking and in his own speech, he spoke about the history of social work and referred to Clement Attlee’s book, ‘The Social Worker’ published in 1920. Mr. MacAlister talked 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.
Josh MacAlister said:
“We need to put much more around them in those first few years. That’s why there’ll be a new early career framework for social workers that replaces the one-year ASYE with two years of support with the funding to go alongside it for every for every newly qualified social worker in the country. And in addition to that, training programmes for those leading family health services, training for those who are taking on the lead Child Protection role.”
Mr MacAlister continued:
“I want to see us build a social work system that is able to get alongside families at the right time; that’s got the resources to meet the needs of families, whether that’s interventions or programmes or the skills themselves that they’re able to bring; that they’ve got the time to do the work, and a big part of that is taking away the clutter and the distraction that means 80% of social work time is spent not with children and families, but with the system. What would happen if we got that to 50%? That would free up 10s of 1000s of hours for amazing practitioners to do life changing work with families.”
The event in Westminster was organised by the Cross-Party Group for Social Work chaired by Ian Byrne MP.
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.”
Ian Byrne has tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM 2979) to mark World Social Work Day 2026 to recognise the contribution that social workers make to society. The EDM also highlights the challenges surrounding the recruitment and retention of social workers.
Speaking at the event were social workers from across the UK, many with over twenty years of experience. They 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.
Chrissie Beatty, a social worker from Bournemouth called on MPs to recognise social workers as a ‘pillar of society’ whilst Tricia Hunte 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’.
The Social Workers Union (SWU) and British Association of Social Workers (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.”
Campaign Collective is a campaign partner to the Social Workers Union (SWU) and British Association of Social Workers (BASW).