Review urges Social Work England to reform CPD and fitness to practise processes

Social Work England should move away from annual continuing professional development (CPD) requirements and urgently address "unacceptable" delays in fitness to practise cases, according to an independent review of social work regulation in England.

The review, led by Dame Annie Hudson (pictured) and commissioned under the Children and Social Work Act 2017, concludes that while the regulator has become "increasingly mature" since its establishment in 2019, "serious and persistent weaknesses" continue to undermine its effectiveness.

Among its priority recommendations, the review calls on Social Work England to reform CPD by moving to a less frequent cycle, such as every three years, supported by stronger external moderation to better assess its impact on professional practice. It also recommends the regulator delivers, within six months, a comprehensive improvement plan to tackle delays in fitness to practise investigations.

The review found that registration arrangements were functioning well but concluded that "disproportionate and poorly implemented continuing professional development (CPD) requirements are limiting their effectiveness in driving reflection and high standards of practice."

It was more critical of the regulator's fitness to practise performance, finding that delays were "extensive, systemic and unacceptable", weakening public protection and eroding confidence in the regulatory system.

In her foreword, Dame Annie Hudson said: "Most notably, significant delays within fitness to practise processes undermine the regulator’s core function of protecting the public and damage confidence in the regulatory system."

She added: "The concerns that were repeatedly expressed by stakeholders about the clarity, tone and effectiveness of communication with registrants and stakeholders have impacted strongly on how the regulator’s intentions and commitment are understood across the sector. There needs to be a sustained focus on implementing a coherent and comprehensive improvement strategy to address these issues. These are not peripheral matters – they go to the heart of the regulator’s purpose and its credibility."

The review also identifies widespread confusion across the sector about Social Work England's remit, arguing that the regulator's primary purpose should be clarified.

It states: "It is crucial that all stakeholders recognise and understand that its fundamental and unambiguous role is to protect the public. The regulator is very definitely not there to act as an advocate or to provide leadership of the profession."

Among its recommendations to government, the review calls for ministers to clarify that Social Work England is focused on regulation rather than professional improvement or advocacy, while also leading the development of a single, coherent framework for social work standards.

The review recommends legislation to remove barriers that hinder fitness to practise investigations, including improving information sharing from family court proceedings, strengthening accepted disposal powers, enabling greater oversight of case examiner decisions and reducing the maximum suspension period for social workers.

Despite its criticisms, the review concludes that Social Work England has established important foundations as a specialist regulator, highlighting its work to maintain the register, develop education and professional standards and introduce a modern regulatory framework.

Dame Annie Hudson said: "Social Work England has laid important foundations as a specialist regulator and is capable of delivering a high-quality regulatory system."

She added that following repeated changes to social work regulation over the past 15 years, "it is crucial that they are enabled to do so, providing the credible and stable oversight needed and enabling stakeholders to develop a settled and embedded understanding of the regulator’s role and functions."

Responding to the review, Social Work England accepted the recommendations and said it would take further action while maintaining "a continued and relentless focus on achieving our primary objective, which is to protect the public."

The regulator acknowledged shortcomings in its fitness to practise performance, stating: "The review is particularly clear that we must improve the timeliness of our fitness to practise processes and strengthen communication with those involved in them. We understand the real impact that delays and ineffective communication can have on everyone affected, and we are committed to ensuring our processes and communications are timely, compassionate and proportionate — even as the volume of concerns raised with us continues to grow."

It also accepted the recommendation to reform CPD, saying: "We know that our focus on developing continuing professional development (CPD) over the past year has not been clear and could be strengthened. We will work with government and the sector to address this, with a formal consultation planned by the end of 2026."

Social Work England said it would begin pre-consultation work on changes to its CPD model this autumn, with a formal consultation expected by December and a revised approach introduced for the 2027/28 renewal year.

The regulator said it would consider changes to the annual renewal cycle alongside stronger external moderation and a greater focus on how CPD supports professional practice.

On its remit, Social Work England welcomed the recommendation for greater clarity, saying: "We agree that it is important that our role and remit should be consistently and clearly articulated in relation to our regulatory functions to ensure it is understood as distinct from professional representation, advocacy and wider sector improvement delivery. All the work we do supports our core regulatory functions and our primary objective of protecting the public."