Social Work England pledges action against racial and religious discrimination

Social Work England has reaffirmed its commitment to tackling racial and religious discrimination, following new figures showing increases in hate crimes targeting racial and religious groups across England and Wales.

The Home Office figures for the year ending March 2026, published on 8 October, recorded a 9% increase in race hate crimes and a 13% rise in religious hate crimes compared with the previous year. Crimes targeting Muslims increased by 15%, while those targeting Jewish people rose by 10%.

The regulator said it did not tolerate racist, offensive or discriminatory behaviour towards its staff, social workers or members of the public, and emphasised the role of social workers in promoting social justice and protecting people from prejudice.

Social Work England’s professional standards require practitioners to “Recognise differences across diverse communities and challenge the impact of disadvantage and discrimination on people and their families and communities” under Standard 1.5. Standard 6.1 also requires social workers to “Report allegations of harm and challenge and report exploitation and any dangerous, abusive or discriminatory behaviour or practice.”

The regulator said equality, diversity and inclusion remained central to its work, with measures set out in its 2026-27 equality, diversity and inclusion action plan. These include conducting impact assessments to identify potential discriminatory effects, gathering perspectives from diverse communities and commissioning research into equality issues.

It is also analysing fitness to practise diversity data to identify disparities and inform improvements, while providing anti-racist and intersectionality training for staff and people involved in fitness to practise processes.

Social Work England said it was continuing to work with employers and its Single Point of Contact Network to embed its fair referral principles, alongside collaborating with organisations involved in the Social Care Workforce Race Equality Standard to advance race equality across the sector.

The regulator also said it was working with the Department of Health and Social Care and other regulatory bodies, including the Professional Standards Authority, to consider the findings of the Lord Mann review into antisemitism and other forms of racism in the NHS and the action that could be taken in response.

The review makes recommendations on how the NHS and its regulatory system can recognise, tackle and report antisemitism and other forms of racism, with the aim of embedding an anti-racist culture across healthcare.

Social Work England said it would continue to draw on people’s experiences to inform its work on discrimination, and highlighted the responsibility of social workers to challenge harmful behaviour and promote the rights, strengths and wellbeing of individuals, families and communities.