Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for Social Work England to clear the fitness to practise backlog; and what her Department's target is for reducing the average time from referral to hearing outcome.

The department is the sponsor department for Social Work England (SWE), the independent regulator, and monitors their performance on an ongoing basis. Funding is provided to SWE annually and is based on the need to deliver against its business plan. SWE report into their board on case progression and are ahead of their current trajectory to reduce the backlog of fitness to practise cases awaiting a hearing. They also continue to increase the rate for hearings. SWE’s board papers are publicly available on their website.

SWE consulted in October 2025 on the potential of introducing adjudicator consensual disposal. The proposed guidance would introduce a new process that allows adjudicators and social workers, in suitable cases, to reach an agreed outcome without the need for a disputed final hearing. This approach would enable cases to be resolved more quickly when both parties agree on the facts and appropriate sanctions. As the independent regulator of the social work profession, SWE will respond to their consultation in due course.