Response to Consultations

 A National Care Service for Scotland

SUMMARY OF SUBMISSION FROM SOCIAL WORK SCOTLAND, TO SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION 

November 2021 

Social Work Scotland is the professional body for social work leaders, working closely with partners to shape policy and practice, and improve the quality and experience of social services. We welcome this opportunity to comment on the Scottish Government’s proposals for a National Care Service, and related reforms to social care, scrutiny, improvement, etc.  

This paper provides a summary of Social Work Scotland’s consultation response, profiling our position on key sections and issues (as identified by Social Work Scotland’s members). It is organised in the sequence we think issues must be considered, considering the social care system’s critical importance to the health and wellbeing of the nation, its complexity and delicate interdependencies, and the real risks to people if this process of change is not deftly planned, properly resourced and expertly managed. 

Please find our full response paper (PDF) here.

Please find our supplementary papers (PDF) here:
SWS NCS Supplementary Response – CARERS

SWS NCS Supplementary Response – FINANCE

SWS NCS Supplementary Response – RESIDENTIAL CARE CHARGES

Our overall position 

Over the past decade Social Work Scotland has taken every opportunity available to underline how pressing the need is for investment, paired with reform, across all aspects of social care and social work. The gap between Scotland’s ambitious rhetoric in these areas (often given weight in law) and our collective ability to deliver on it has steadily grown, fuelling disappointment, frustration and cynicism among those seeking publicly-funded support and those employed to deliver it. Ten years on from the Christie Commission, the preventative model of public services that it described also remains, for many, some way off. Closing this ‘implementation gap’ is a shared priority for Ministers and Social Work Scotland’s members.  

The reforms outlined in this consultation present opportunities to close that implementation gap. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the social care sector to the brink of crisis, and further delay in making necessary changes and improvements is not tenable. We therefore welcome the prospect of co-creating a National Care Service for Scotland, helping to realise its potential and mitigate its risks. The National Care Service’s scope should extend to adult social care and social work, from where the impetus for these specific reforms came, and where the rationale for these proposals is clearest. But defining the boundaries of ‘adult’ social care and social work will be difficult, and we see real value for individuals and communities in maintaining social work as a holistic profession and service, with all its parts connected under a shared professional leadership. For these reasons, as well as our acknowledgement that reform is needed (and has been committed to) in all areas of social care and social work, we recommend that formal discussions, research led and lived-experience informed, are initiated immediately among relevant partners to determine what the best structural and governance arrangements are for justice social work, children and families social work and social care and mental health services. The fundamental questions being always: “will this change make it easier or harder for the people working in the system to achieve positive outcomes alongside people in their communities?” and “will this change progress or impede social justice in Scotland, in terms of poverty and inequality, discrimination and isolation, the environment and human rights?”   

It should be noted that we do not believe organisational structures, in themselves, have a direct impact on the quality of social care and social work, the experiences of people, or the outcomes achieved. Inspections and research have consistently concluded that formal structural arrangements matter much less than the quality of leadership and availability of resources. An approach to change which concentrates primarily on the structures, rather than the people that work within them, is therefore likely to fail in delivering meaningful change on the ground. But this is not said to dismiss structural change as unimportant. Structures can and do have an influence over how resources are allocated and managed, and the nature of leadership. We must get them right, if we are to enable the cultures and practice which the Independent Review of Adult Social Care and the Promise, among others, have called for. Moreover, if structural and policy change is a corollary to unlocking the financial and political investment that social care and social work require, then we must engage with proposals constructively. Social Work Scotland members are eager to share their experience and insight in the process of building a National Care Service that works for all. 

For the leaders of social work in Scotland, the National Care Service consultation has provoked some difficult conversations. We are not all of the same view about what represents the best next step for the profession, or what arrangements work best for the delivery of public services. But we are in complete agreement about the essential and unique contribution social work makes to achieving a socially just, healthier Scotland. Social work sits near the heart of social care, and at its best it can knit together separate components into an experience of assistance and support which feels personal and empowering from the perspective of an individual or family.  We will work tirelessly with any partner committed to helping social work achieve that reality for the diverse communities of Scotland.  

The case for change 

In considering the proposals in this consultation, Social Work Scotland members engaged with an open mind, sharing the view of Ministers that change is needed. There has been disagreement with the reasons for change set out in the consultation document, and with the specific changes proposed, but as an organisation we start from a position of acceptance that the status quo is not, nor should be, an option.  

In part this is because the voices of those with lived experience, whether in the case of the Independent Care Review or Independent Review of Adult Social Care, have made clear that changes must be made. But is also because our own members, and other social work and social care colleagues, have for a long while expressed their dissatisfaction with structures, cultures and policies which are often disabling, rather than enabling, of their personal effort and professional judgement. Eligibility criteria and inadequate workforce numbers which preclude them from taking preventative, empowering actions. Bureaucracy and systemic risk-aversion inhibiting them from developing constructive relationships with those seeking and/or receiving support. Legislation which pushes and pulls in contrary directions, or makes demands which the ‘system’ has no capacity to deliver.  

For social work to fulfil its potential, as a body of relationships through which the lives of individuals, families and communities are improved, we need to see change nationally. But the nature of the change needed is different for every local area. This is why our membership have articulated a variety of opinions in response to the consultation; no disagreement that change is needed, but caution about whether the changes proposed by the consultation are the right ones for their local community, or the group of people they support. In other words, no two parts of Scotland engage with these proposals from exactly the same starting point. This is perhaps best illustrated by the debate around children’s social work and social care, where a multiplicity of different arrangements currently exist, each with its own strengths. The consultation’s proposal to extend the scope of a National Care Service to cover children’s social work and social care has, therefore, been viewed by some as a logical continuation of current arrangements, while for others it represents a profound risk to existing partnerships (particularly with education). On balance, our members have concluded that a case has not yet been made for such radical change (i.e. moving children’s social work and social care into the National Care Service). We have reached a similar conclusion on justice social work. However, we are very aware that this conclusion does not preclude change. For all those local areas where children’s social work and social care are part of Health and Social Care Partnerships, a decision not to include these services in the National Care Service will mean significant change. Which is why the priority must be to initiate a national discussion about what the best next step is, in terms of structural arrangements for specific service areas, maintaining meanwhile as a horizon a strong, unified social work profession.           

Structures of accountability, governance and service delivery are just one part of consultation though, and proposals around eligibility and assessment, workforce development, commissioning, scrutiny, implementation and improvement are, among many others, all welcome. The case for change is strong in these areas, with clear potential to make things work better.        

As social work is so integral to Scotland’s various social care systems (e.g. children, adults, older people, etc.), and our social care, health and education colleagues so critical to achieving social work’s objectives, the focus of our members has always been broad and inclusive. We seek change in the whole system, as it is only when the whole system is working well that people and communities will notice improvement.  

But the consultation rightly makes a number of proposals specifically about social work, which we warmly welcome and endorse. Social work is a national profession without national structures. Despite being a statutory role, with legal responsibilities no other professional can fulfil, there is currently no mechanism for national workforce planning, or for the coordination of ongoing learning and development (or to protect the time of social workers to engage in that learning). The variations between local areas, flagged as a matter of concern by both the Promise and Independent Review of Adult Social Care, is baked into the system by there being, among other reasons, thirty-two distinct approaches to social work resourcing and management. The establishment of the National Social Work Agency, distinct from but in close partnership with the National Care Service, can be a means to address these issues. In addition to offering our strong support for the National Social Work Agency, we also advocate strongly in our response for the reaffirmation, through legislation, of social work professional leadership in the management of public services (through Executive Directors of Social Work on Community Health and Social Care Boards, and equivalents within local authorities). Our work around the implementation of self-directed support legislation continues to provide evidence (to add to much already in place from other sources) that the principles and spirit of the legislation are only achievable when professionals and others have autonomy and agency, able to make decisions and hold risk with confidence. That is only possible in areas where senior leaders make that possible for their teams. The principles of self-directed support, as well as duties around prevention and protection, are core to the social work role; the leadership of the profession can help embed them in all the organisations of which they are part.       

Finance  

As the Minister rights notes in his foreword to the consultation paper, “social care is an investment in our communities and our economy, so that everyone can take their part in society”. The Scottish Government’s commitment to significant investment in social work and social care is to be welcomed and applauded. But we are concerned that the additional funding being proposed alongside the consultation, at “over £800m”, will not be sufficient to realise the scale of change outlined by the proposals.  

The Scottish Government has yet to cost some key proposals highlighted by Derek Feeley as necessary to “strengthen the foundations” of social care, around pay increases for social care workers and increased support for Scotland’s now one million unpaid carers, which in Feeley is wider that the “right to respite” in the consultation paper.  (These and other issues are discussed more fully in our supplementary submission on Finance). We estimate that the delivery of commitments already made by the Scottish Government, combined with the specific consultation proposals and other uncosted Feeley recommendations, would require over £1.5 billion of public spending in 2025-26 to realise. This figure assumes the scope of the National Care Service is adult social work and social care; if the scope is broadened costs will increase further, as all areas require investment to address unmet need.    

We were surprised that the consultation paper continued no questions on finance, apart from charging for residential care. Considering how critical the resourcing is to successful implementation of these proposals, this was perhaps a missed opportunity. But we hope in the stages that follow the consultation there will be forums established for consideration of the finance issues, within which we will be constructive participants, making available the information and knowledge we do have about how much it will cost to make the National Care Service vision a reality.    

Social Work Scotland members did note and welcome the emphasis in the consultation document on early intervention and prevention. These are, like protective interventions, part of the statutory role of social work. When we are properly resourced, social workers can directly improve the experience and wellbeing of individuals and families and communities, nurturing strengths and giving meaning to human rights. Such preventative action also has the bonus of helping to reduce or defer the need for more costly action at a later stage. We are eager to work with the Scottish Government and other partners to ensure the National Care Service, and all other structures from which social work operates from. We are keen to make the preventative part of our statutory role our primary focus, including working with others to address the material poverty, inequalities and deprivation in our communities.  

Access & Eligibility 

Reflecting on the substance of the Independent Review of Adult Social Care, and the experiences shared by people working in and receiving support through ‘social care’, this section of the consultation is perhaps the most important. All other sections of the consultation, and all the component pieces of a National Care Service, exist solely to create a safe, enabling context in which to provide care and support for all.  

With that in mind, our response cautions against an overly transactional and consumerist framing to social care and social work, in which all individuals are aware of their needs, are able and willing to articulate them, and eager to receive support. This is not the reality. In some instances individuals with the most acute needs actively avoid and reject the support available to them. Social work and social care are often about navigating the complexities of people’s lives, through a relational approach, to ensure that the needs of an individual are met. The National Care Service’s approach from assessment, eligibility and access through to support must properly reflect this, making possible the principles and standards of self-directed support in every case, not just the few.      

In a similar vein, we are also concerned about the consultation’s reductive narrative on the coordination of support. Care and support can (and is currently) coordinated by many different people, including by individuals themselves. But social work and social care are about more than just ‘care management’. In some cases the social work intervention alone will be all the support necessary, or will link a person into existing networks or in the community. In other cases protective actions may be necessary. The reduction of ‘care and support’ down to a process involving the coordination of various services not only creates risks for the public, it undermines and undervalues social work (and other related professionals) within the system.         

On eligibility criteria, we support a move away from “eligibility criteria in their current form”, but also note that “risk” is not in itself the problem. Risk is a constant and necessary part of our lives, and to engage an individual in determining and managing their own personal risks is the core objective of an empowering social work and social care system. It is important, therefore, that we take this opportunity to fully assess and understand the implications of reforming or abolishing eligibility criteria; we recommend establishing an expert panel to take on the task. It should assess the fiscal consequences of each option, and it should consider the realities of how demand management and rationing works in other services, particularly in the NHS.  

The place of social work within (and beyond) a National Care Service  

Without repeating comments made above, Social Work Scotland supports the establishment of National Care Service, and hopes to see social work at the core of its leadership, planning and delivery, shaping its ethos and culture. Where social work is incorporated into the National Care Service, close attention must be given to how the full breadth of the social work role, encompassing preventative and protective duties, can be realised. We will be eager participants in the coming ‘design stage’, helping to ensure we co-create a context which enables social work to provide the best support and care possible to people and communities. 

However, we seek further discussion and analysis about which specific ‘parts’ of social work should be included in the National Care Service. The commitment of the Scottish Government, supported by most political parties and partners, to establish an National Care Service for adult social care has, to an extent, precluded a discussion about the incorporation of adult social work. Social work and social care are distinct but interrelated things, and we cannot conceive how a National Care Service for adult social care would work without the inclusion of adult social work too. By virtue of the relationships between adult social work / care and drug and alcohol services, and relevant services in prisons, there is a strong case for including these also. But this has presented a profound dilemma for Social Work Scotland’s members. We believe that social work is stronger and more flexible when all its constituent parts (e.g. adult, justice, drug and alcohol, children and families, etc.) are located together within the same structure of leadership and accountability. But on the basis of the case made so far (as set out in the consultation), and mindful of the risks such major reorganisation presents, we have not been able to conclude definitively whether all of social work should be in a National Care Service, or just parts. Our recommendation is that Ministers work with partners, over the next year, to identify and evaluate the risks and benefits of incorporating the various areas noted in the consultation (adults, children and families, justice, mental health services, etc.), as well as others which have not been included but require consideration (e.g. homelessness). We do not reject the idea that inclusion in the National Care Service might facilitate improvement, but more work is needed to ensure that it is, when compared to alternative options, the right next step in the reform of these critical public services. All rely on partnerships between professional groups and services to succeed; reform must strengthen these, not undermine them.   

If, at the conclusion of this policy development process, social work is to be located across different accountability and leadership structures, further detailed work will be needed to clarify how connections between the various parts of social work will be maintained and enhanced, ensuring holistic assessment and support processes, and seamless and positive transitions for those whose care and support will need to move between (or require the simultaneous involvement of) multiple organisations. Social Work Scotland stands ready to assist in whatever way we can.  

Community Health and Social Care Boards 

We welcome efforts to reduce the variation in structural and governance arrangements in Scotland, identifying it as a barrier to developing and scaling up improvement. However, Social Work Scotland members representing all parts of Scotland, and particularly those based in remote and island communities, have called for some flexibility in the model of integration adopted for the National Care Service, to enable local areas to identify structures which work best for their communities, taking into account demographics, history, geography, local economies and existing partnerships.  

On the question of whether Community Health and Social Care Boards should employ other staff, we concluded early on (when considering these proposals) that it would be difficult to achieve the scale and nature of change required without a more radical approach to the employment of certain professions and other key personnel. The scale of the challenge is daunting, but we recommend that all relevant staff involved in the planning, management and delivery of social care, social work and community health are directly employed by the Community Health and Social Care Board, and together constitute the National Care Service workforce. We are not insensitive to the significance of this recommendation. For social work, as well as other groups, it would represent a seismic shift in working arrangements. But while few of our members actively seek disruption and uncertainty around their employment, every one of them are committed to securing the structures and systems that are most likely to deliver consistently high-quality social work, social care and community health services. Form must follow function, and if the objectives of a National Care Service are to be realised (let alone the more ambitious recommendations of the Independent Review of Adult Social Care) we cannot see how the Community Health and Social Care Board model can progress without direct responsibility for the relevant staff. 

Workforce planning, training and development 

Moves to extend and enhance national workforce planning in social care and social work are welcome. In our response we highlight the fact that the ‘social care sector’ is considerably more complicated than the ‘health’ sector, and the approach to workforce planning therefore needs to reflect that, in terms of the resources, staff and time allocated to it. There is also detailed work needed to properly assess current and future demand for social care and social work; framed in the context of rights, choice and empowerment, and taking account of demographic and inequalities data. It is not possible to plan for a workforce without a clear projection of the scale and nature of the work.  

On the training and development structures that flow from, and give effect to, robust workforce planning, we are again supportive of steps which will give social care and social work a national infrastructure through which to design and deliver the necessary changes. A good example of this might be exploring how we better reflect the diversity of our communities in the workforce, through education, training and recruitment, and supporting our existing workforce to look outwards at the changing demography, as well as at our own staff. We do not agree that the National Care Service should ‘set’ training and development requirements; that implies a unilateral authority inconsistent with a reality in which relevant professional groups are overseen by independent regulators, and supported by professional bodies or associations. Moreover, depending on the eventual scope of the National Care Service, certain professional groups will span various employment and accountability structures. Training and development requirements should be determined through collaboration among these bodies, and the National Care Service will have a key role in enabling the implementation of those plans.   

National Social Work Agency 

A National Social Work Agency is no panacea or silver bullet for the challenges facing social work and social care. But for those working in and leading the profession, the establishment of National Social Work Agency is a vital piece in the jigsaw of reform, providing the levers we collectively need to plan, develop and improve social work in Scotland. It should be complimentary to existing bodies, assuming responsibilities that currently no one holds, and bringing greater coordination in areas where various partners have a role but at present no clear lead.  

The current national arrangements for social work are messy and inefficient, with Scottish Government, employers, SSSC, Social Work Scotland, improvement bodies and many others all separately ‘leading’ on aspects of social work’s development. At best the current arrangements serve to hold things together. But if we are to affect the changes in social work systems and practice outlined by the Independent Review of Social Care and the Promise, and which the profession itself has called for, we need to create an enabling context. The National Social Work Agency alone cannot deliver that context, but conversely, the context cannot be created without the kind of functions and leadership a National Social Work Agency will provide. In our response we set out a number of possible benefits a National Social Work Agency might deliver, and we urge Ministers and partners to see the potential and value of this development.    

Please find our full response in the download link (PDF) below.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact: 

Ben Farrugia
Director, Social Work Scotland
ben.farrugia@socialworkscotland.org 

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on equalities and human rights

JOINT SUBMISSION FROM SOCIAL WORK SCOTLAND AND SCOTTISH ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL WORK TO THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT’S EQUALITIES AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE INQUIRY

13^th January 2021  

Social Work Scotland is the professional body for social work leaders in Scotland. The Scottish Association of Social Work (SASW) is part of the British Association of Social Workers, an independent membership body for social workers across the UK.  Both organisations work closely with partners to shape policy and practice and improve the quality and experience of social services.  We are responding to this inquiry together, bringing together the views of frontline social workers and managers who are employed in the public, private and voluntary sectors, as well as those operating as independent practitioners. Our joint membership is diverse, and being located across all parts of Scotland, experiences throughout the pandemic have been highly variable, in line with the differences decisions and approaches taken by local areas. We profile in this submission here the common themes to emerge from their feedback over the past ten months.

KEY POINTS

1. While acknowledging that COVID-19 has manifested some new equality and human rights issues, overwhelmingly its impact has been to exacerbate existing inequalities and lay bare the fragility of the systems (services, people) who protect and give meaning to human rights. This is particularly the case for those individuals whose rights were more vulnerable prior to the pandemic, due to age, disability, gender, sexuality, socio-economic status, race and ethnicity, housing security, mental health, etc. Well-resourced public services (such as social work and social care) as well as an active civic society (including charities, voluntary organisations, etc) are essential to the realisation of Scotland’s vision of a rights-based, equal society. Instead, the funding of the social care system has fallen in real terms over the decade of austerity – in the opposite direction to increasing need due to demographic and other changes.
2. The many different dimensions of social inequalities create overlapping layers of disadvantage, which are multiple for many people; these have been tracked by the disproportionate impacts of the pandemic. In managing our ongoing response to COVID-19, and in our “rebuilding better” after, careful attention must be paid to the views and needs of these specific groups, ensuring plans take account of their vulnerability to the virus itself and/or its wider socio-economic and mental health effects, and deal with root causes.
3. Social work is a critical component in many public service systems. In children, adult and justice services, social workers mediate access to a wide range of support (e.g., child and adult social care), deliver specific interventions and protect the interests of those unable to do so independently. COVID-19 has restricted social work’s ability to perform these functions, due to staff absence, work-from-home restrictions, limited PPE (in the early stages of the pandemic) and prioritisation of other urgent issues. As a result of social work being less present and accessible, the rights of some individuals will have been affected. Social workers, with colleagues across social services, have worked tirelessly to minimise this impact, but there are limits to what can be achieved through remote working or with depleted teams. Vaccination holds out the promise of a return to face-to-face interaction and relational work on a much wider scale than is currently possible. However, the impact of COVID-19 on the profession, and the organisations which employ them, is likely to stretch over a number of years. Any plan to re-address the inequities and rights impact of the pandemic must have within it a commitment to address issues impeding the delivery of effective social work practice.
4. The pandemic has revealed the limitations of a ‘rights bearer’ and ‘duty holder’ framing of human rights. Corporate bodies, such as local authorities, may hold duties to uphold rights, but those corporate bodies are in reality just organised groups of people, all with their own needs, vulnerabilities and rights. The response to COVID-19 has, universally, forced employers to consider the welfare of their staff, and the urgency and risk of the work they are involved in. Within the NHS, that has led to the cancellation of operations and delayed treatment for thousands of people. For social work and social care, it has meant, in some cases, reductions in the level of support which can be made available. A realistic appraisal of the impact of the pandemic on rights and equality should highlight the responsibilities of employers to keep their people safe, and the enormous challenges they faced in the early stages, seeking to securing solutions which would enable professionals and others (such as social workers, social care staff and carers) to resume their work.
5. Just as people rely on other people to give meaning to their human rights, the rights of different individuals can sometimes be in tension, or even conflict, with each other. In some cases, an individual’s exercise of their right to put themselves and/or others into potential harm. It is the unique role of social work to assess an individual’s needs, understand their wishes, and to promote their interests and wellbeing within the framework of their human rights and the current service / resource context. Sometimes this involves taking decisions in an individual’s interests which are at odds with their (or a family or friend’s) wishes. Such situations demand a high degree of sensitivity and skill to manage, and are, by their nature, often contentious and emotive. We make this point to underline the importance of taking a broad and nuanced perspective in any evaluation of how human rights have been impacted in the pandemic. Every individual’s story is complex and multifaceted, and understanding comes from a breadth of perspectives.
6. The virus, its impact on people’s health, and the impact of the measures we have taken to contain its spread, have most affected least advantaged in our society (on all dimensions: income and wealth, housing, digital, social, etc). 2020 and 2021 will have served to exacerbate our existing inequalities. Our hope is that, in having these inequalities more clearly surfaced, and a wider proportion of the population made aware, through their own experiences, of the challenges brought about by low incomes, isolation and family stress bring, the public’s appetite for addressing the underlying structural factors will be strengthened.

QUESTION 1: HOW HAVE GROUPS OF PEOPLE BEEN AFFECTED BY THE VIRUS?

In assessing COVID-19’s impact on equalities and human rights it is helpful to distinguish between the effects related to (a) the virus and disease itself[1], and (b) the actions taken by public authorities to contain the spread of the virus and protect vulnerable groups, access to emergency services, etc. Social workers have been involved throughout the pandemic in mitigating the impacts seen in both domains (albeit the majority of our activity has focused on the issues created by state efforts to contain the virus, which have affected every member of society in some way).

(A) Impact of the disease

As has now been well documented, the disease COVID-19 does discriminate. It has, to date at least, disproportionately affected older people, those with underlying health conditions, members of our Black, Asian, and other Minority Ethnic communities, and people with low incomes or precarious employment (e.g., zero-hour contracts). The reasons for this prejudice are various, including, in these groups, higher than average numbers of people living together under the same roof (be it a care home or family home), exposure to the virus through public facing roles (e.g., public transport workers, nurses and healthcare assistants, etc.) and above average rates of pre-existing co-morbidities (e.g., diabetes, obesity, hypertension). These factors coalesce together into an increased risk of catching the virus, and then an increased risk of the virus manifesting a serious or fatal response.

The impact of these increased risks has manifested in many ways, with individuals and families affected by some or all of the following:

Stress and anxiety

• Worry for self and family, about illness and/or social and financial impacts
• Worry about transmission of the virus to loved ones, known contacts, professionals and carers, colleagues, other residents in home or accommodation, unknown members of the public, etc.
• Worry about putting pressure on the health service, reducing its capacity for others.

Loss of income

• Actual reductions in income because not able to work

Loneliness (reduced human contact and self-isolation)

• Reduced in person contact with family, carers and professionals.

Recovered but with “long covid”

• Development of chronic health conditions, impacting on long-term ability to work, participate in education, society, etc.

Time in hospital

• Range of experiences including near-death and trauma, as well as the joy of survival
• Consumption of scare resources including deferment of services required by people with other medical conditions leading to ‘survivor guilt’.

Decline in mental health

• Various psychological impacts, exacerbating existing conditions and provoking new ones.

Death

• Loss of future lives
• Bereavements and long-term loss to loved ones, families, friends
• Financial loss to families and wider society (multipliers, taxation, etc)
• Loss of contributions to society, and local communities

This is not an exhaustive list, but it illustrates that, for those who have caught the virus the potential impact on their human rights cannot be more serious, with loss of mental and physical health, work, and even life. And with the knowledge that the COVID-19 virus does not affect all groups in society equally, but that all groups are interconnected, it is understandable that governments around the world have taken such drastic all-of-society action in their efforts to contain it.

(B) Efforts to contain the virus

The public health measures introduced to slow the spread of the virus only have historical comparators in wartime. Every aspect of life and every individual, family and community has been affected. The scale and severity of restrictions (on the economy, social contact, movement, etc.) has meant that the virus, directly or indirectly, has impacted the rights and wellbeing or every person in the UK. But as with the discriminate impact of the virus, affecting some groups more than others, the impact of efforts to contain it have not fallen evenly on society. As social work practitioners and managers we have had a front-line perspective on this throughout the pandemic; particularly in respect to people who are vulnerable or need additional support, for whom we provide or coordinate services. This includes children, families, parents, carers, adults with disabilities, older people and people involved in the criminal justice system.

Among the many impacts of restrictions over the past year, of particularly note in respect of this inquiry are:

Increased levels of poverty

• Poverty, much of which existed prior to the pandemic, is a key underlying factor for the escalation of crisis in many households[2].
• Financial pressures resulting from insecure or total loss of employment and/or insufficient government support (for example where individuals must self-isolate) has contributed significantly to financial insecurity. The Government’s commitment to free school meals and increased levels of financial support have ameliorated this to some extent, but the medium to long-term impact of increased anxiety within families (and to individuals within those families) may be serious.
• Increase in food poverty (with its concomitant impact on education, health, etc.).[3]
• Increases in applications for welfare and crisis support[4]. Accordingly, social work has faced increased demand for practical support around income maximisation and housing.

Digital poverty / inequality

• Some individuals / families have been able to continue to participate effectively in school, healthcare, routine assessment, etc. thanks to digital connectivity. Indeed for some people the move of many services online has been beneficial, removing the need and cost of travel, etc., and changing the terms of their interaction with professionals. However, for others the move online has meant marginalisation, and the loss of support / a service. The pre-existing ‘digital divide’ – reflecting inequality of access to knowledge, hardware, software, data and support – has been exaggerated, with those most likely to lose out being those already most disadvantaged. Digital connectivity is no longer a “nice to have” when essential services move online.
• The move online has also encouraged new types of financial fraud, increased exposure to on-line sexual grooming and the potential for other forms of exploitation of vulnerable people[5].

Disruption to referral routes for social work and social care

• Because engagement with schools, GPs, hospitals, etc. has significantly reduced, along with home visits by nurses, voluntary organisations, etc., referrals to social work or police for vulnerable children and adults have been disrupted, leading to delays in issues being identified. Early notification of concern is critical to prevent situations deteriorating further, leading to more serious problems.

Disruption to social work, social care and community services

• Social work and social care services entered the pandemic with insufficient capacity to meet demand related to population aging, widening inequalities and growing social care needs[6]. As the pandemic took hold, sickness, self-isolation and re-deployment reduced capacity further. Limitations on PPE, national guidance on home visiting and other factors also impacted on social work’s ability to reach people vulnerable or in need.
• Voluntary sector and community organisations / services forced to close (e.g. day services, etc.), restricting the opportunities available to certain groups, such as those with disabilities, to leave their homes, maintain relationships, etc.
• Public sector and independent (voluntary or private sector) providers of care and support forced to reduce the care packages they can service.

Increased isolation and loneliness, impacting on mental health and wellbeing

• Isolation and loneliness have increased across all sections of the population, with significant impact on mental wellbeing and mental health. However, for individuals and families who were already isolated (as too many older people, adults with disabilities and parents were) the closing of services and reduction of interaction / visits from family, carers, support workers, etc. has exaggerated this further.

Increased pressure within families

• Poverty (be it financial, food, digital, housing) creates stress within families. The government’s efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic have increased those pressures within many families.
• Further pressure has been built through individuals spending extended periods of time exclusively together at home, the demands of home schooling, disruption to exams, young people’s lack of access to friends, the general social anxiety about the future, etc.

As with the impacts of the virus itself, this list is far from exhaustive. What we have tried to illustrate is that the restrictions imposed have surfaced the significant inequalities which existed in society before the pandemic. And, moreover, that the fulfilment of people’s human rights relies on a broad base of civic and public services being accessible. This is particularly true for people and families with fewer socio-economic advantages. Remove the scaffolding from around individuals and communities, and the structure is less resilient to major external and internal stresses.

QUESTION 2: WHICH GROUPS HAVE BEEN DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED BY THE VIRUS AND THE RESPONSE TO IT?

• Children and Families:

Children, as a cohort, have been particularly affected because of the disruption to education (from early learning and childcare through all stages of school) and the dramatic reduction in opportunities for play, peer and extended family interaction, creativity, learning, travel, etc. These opportunities, complementing formal learning, shape the adults we become. The absence of school and other child/youth activities has also significantly reduced the chance to identify issues early and offer help. That is particularly problematic for young people’s mental and physical health. The long-term legacy of these COVID-19 months is yet to be seen, but it is children and young people whose lives will be most shaped by it. The world of employment will be changed (possibly with fewer of the sort of jobs young people begin with), and public debt built up to underwrite the government’s response will shape public and political debate for decades to come. At an individual level, disruption to schooling and issues with mental health may determine many future choices.

Within the cohort of ‘all children’, specific groups have been affected more than others. For example, those affected by domestic abuse. Levels of domestic abuse in Scotland have been a persistent concern for social work, charities and policy makers for many years, but on the basis of calls to third sector helplines, the pandemic has led to increased prevalence. This is consistent with what we know about domestic abuse, and its relationship to wider stressors within the family. With services reduced or closed, and people encouraged to isolate as much as possible, we have reduced our collective ability to spot and respond to cases at the early stages. This has limited our capacity to protect the rights of children (and others impacted by abuse within the household). Our experience suggests that much greater support is needed for non-abusing parents and children, and that we must engage much more effectively and assiduously with perpetrators. Many local authorities and organisations were building these strengths-based approach (such as the internationally recognised Safe and Together™^[7]) at the start of the pandemic, but unfortunately work in some areas has had to be delayed to accommodate other priorities.

The true extent of child sexual abuse and child criminal exploitation through the pandemic has been hard to gauge[8], but we expect it to have increased. Third sector colleagues and the police draw attention to the significance of interaction between technology-assisted and direct contact abuse, and with the move of children’s lives online, the increased risks. The pandemic has underlined the need for a closer examination of the context of abuse outside the family, and a consideration of how to intervene in both physical locations and online platforms (a theme explored in a recent Social Work Scotland hosted seminar[9]). More generally, ensuring child protection during COVID-19 has been challenging, with the everyday monitoring provided by schools and other universal services reduced or removed. Social work professionals themselves have been restricted in their ability to interact with families, with reductions in home visits, supervised contact, etc. Colleagues report concerns about patterns of Forced Marriage, Female Genital Mutilation and Honour Based Abuse.

There has also been a disproportionate impact for children involved in the Children’s Hearings System and courts. Permanence decisions have been delayed, existing Orders have been rolled forward without expiry date (meaning that families risk being subject to state intervention longer than necessary), and only priority case have been heard by Children’s Hearing panels, potentially limiting access to services from social work and others. Figures provided to the Scottish Government (as part the monitoring of COVID-19’s impact) indicate that since March 2020 there has been a significant reduction in the number of children becoming looked after away from home.[10] At this stage there is not enough data and intelligence to confirm whether this is as a result of system changes or limited access to resources and not necessarily because of reduced need or better practice. This needs to be explored to ensure that children’s rights are not at risk from inaction.

The challenge of promoting the relationships and wellbeing of children looked after away from home has been accentuated by COVID-19. Social Work Scotland has been central to the development of a framework for decision making about contact[11], assisting practitioners make extremely difficult decisions.  For example, there have been significant challenges around contact, for example between children and birth parents, balancing the benefits with risks, such as spreading the virus to foster or kinship carers (often an older population) or between different parts of the country (which may have different rates of infection and restrictions in place). The limited number of safe physical environments for indoor contact has further restricted options.

Social workers have consistently reported how stretched and affected many kinship and foster carers, and the children in their care, have been, with individuals feeling isolated and disconnected from their normal networks (formal and informal) of support. Local areas have done creative work using virtual support and new models of practical, material help, but for many of these families it has remained a very difficult year. We take heart from the adaptation and resilience the families have shown, and the positive stories emerging of, for instance, effective family group decision making taking place which have kept children out of the care system.[12]

Families with children who have complex physical or learning needs have been particularly impacted by the closure of educational settings, having to assume 24 hour responsibility for care and education. There are specific risks for these families in terms of isolation and burn out without frequent opportunities for support and respite. And for those at or near school leaving age, the crucial transition planning for people with additional support needs (enabling them to make successful moves into further and higher education, or employment) has been disrupted, opportunities restricted.

(B) Adults

Adults living in care homes, whether older people or adults with complex needs, have been disproportionately affected by the virus and the response. In the first phase on the pandemic, there were high levels of excess deaths (compared to the weekly 5-year averages for 2015-19, not all of which were recognised on death certificates as COVID-19 related during the period before testing became more widely available[13].

Some social care workers in residential homes, and also in the community, have also died as a result of contracting COVID-19 through their work, as sadly has been the case for other groups of essential workers.

From a social work perspective, it became increasingly important to ensure that people’s human rights and mental health were being considered alongside (rather than secondary to) clinical excellence and infection control. Issues as varied as discharges from hospitals to care homes, restrictions on visits, limited interaction within homes, mass testing, use of Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation forms[14], have all presented complex and nuanced decision making. And they have proved highly problematic for many care homes, especially those supporting people with cognitive needs. The enhanced oversight of care homes duty, placed on Chief Social Work Officers and other professional leaders, was an attempt to ensure a balanced assessment of risks, rights and needs in shaping local strategies. As we write, the vaccination programme is being rolled out through care homes, and we hope this will enable residents to access their rights to see family and friends, and to ensure they get the full range of services and supports they need.

At the core of the social work role is public protection; assessing risks and benefits in an ecological model, with the aim of securing the best outcomes for an individual, with their needs and wishes met and interests protected. In some instances, social workers are empowered to take actions to protect the interests of an individual, possibly bringing them into conflict with the individual or their carer / family, who wish to take a different course of action. This is a difficult but essential role in a society where not all individuals, whether due to incapacity or circumstances, are in a position to determine their best interests alone. And while families have a undisputed right to inform and lead decision-making in such instances, it is the case that they do not always have access to all the information, or necessarily have the rights, needs and interests of the individual as their primary concern. Over the course of the pandemic, with the social work profession’s ability to perform this role has been restricted, leading to concerns about the welfare of such as for adults with incapacity. Due in reduced reporting channels (fewer agencies and primary care contact with people and families at risk of crisis) and restrictions on movement and interaction, it has been difficult in some cases to ensure the rights and welfare of some individuals’ are being maintained.

Early intervention and community supports are critical to maintaining good mental wellbeing and mental health. Where these are not available, we can expect to see more people reaching mental health crises. This is likely to be compounded where the economic situation is worsened. With people’s mental health needs going unmet, detention – a deprivation of an individual’s liberty – is being considered more frequently than we, as a professional group involved in such decisions, would like to see it. As officers of local authorities within partnership arrangements, Mental Health Officers (specialist social workers with additional qualifications in mental health) are not sufficiently empowered to ensure provision meets assessed need. To ensure the rights of individuals with mental health issues are upheld, MHOs (and other relevant professionals) need access to specialist and community resources, over which people are offered choice and control. We believe that decisions regarding detention should be made after face-to-face assessment of patients, but we are aware that due to staffing constraints, this is not always the case.  Whilst the number[15] of people being detained due to their mental health has risen during the pandemic, this is in line with year on year rises. There is evidence, however, from the Mental Welfare Commission that some of the safeguards around detention have been used less frequently than previously. We are concerned about the critical shortage of both MHOs and “Section 22” medical professionals.  We note that the Tayside Independent Review report “Trust and Respect” was explicit in finding that a shortage of Registered Medical Officers impacted detrimentally on the patient’s journey.

People who are homeless initially benefitted from the programme to ensure that everyone was off the streets, and the route map for “Everyone Home”[16] has been developed to make asking about homelessness an expectation across public services.  However, in order for this success to stand beyond the pandemic, public services must continue to be resourced appropriately to attend to the multiple underlying structural causes of homelessness (including additions, mental health, debt, etc.). Otherwise, we risk returning to pre-pandemic levels of homelessness (or higher, considering the precarious financial situation many people face), with the additional challenge of a diminished voluntary sector, its finances limited after a year of reduced income.

(C) Adults involved in the justice system

Justice Social Work delivers reports to Scottish Courts, provides or commissions community-based programmes as an alternative to prison, and is responsible for a range of expert risk assessment support to the police, prison service and Parole Board.  Requirements for physical distancing, and the universal impact on staffing through sickness, isolation and redeployment, have reduced the ability of justice social workers to deliver group programmes and coordinate unpaid work activity. This has a very significant impact, in terms of rights and equalities, on the individuals subject to relevant courts orders, effectively extending sentences and prolonging involvement with the justice system.

Both Social Work Scotland and SASW[17] have articulated concerns to the Scottish Government around the backlog of community order ‘unpaid work’ hours[18].  We believe that without a systematic reduction in the number of outstanding unpaid work hours (through revocation or variation of orders) there is a major risk that Justice Social Work (JSW) will be overwhelmed, with serious consequences for the wider justice system and the rights of both social work professionals and individuals and families, and victims. Whilst some funding has been made available to buy in support from the Third Sector, this will not release the number of hours necessary to meet the backlog in demand.

Before the Coronavirus pandemic there was an increasing focus on expanding early intervention measures such as Diversion from Prosecution and Structured Deferred Sentences which help individuals to avoid unnecessary contact with the criminal justice system and deliver swift interventions which can interrupt a cycle of offending. Many of the strategies now in place to deal with the backlog within the justice system require heavy input from CJSW, but simultaneously the capacity of CJSW has reduced[19].

People in prison have experienced significant additional curtailments to their rights as visits, time out of cell, meaningful daily activity and access to fresh air have all been reduced.  Numbers of people on remand have increased as has the length of time people are remanded impacting on people’s lives, housing, work finances and relationships. Children who have a parent or sibling in prison will experience the removal of the person from their lives in a more extreme way than even prior to the pandemic.

QUESTION 3: HAVE THERE BEEN SPECIFIC EQUALITY OR HUMAN RIGHTS IMPACTS ON GROUPS OF PEOPLE AS A RESPONSE TO THE VIRUS?

The Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) recently published a report into changes to social care provision during COVID-19 and its impact on human rights[20].  It details the experiences of individuals receiving health and social care support, with a focus on the rights of persons with disabilities, older people, carers and children. The testimony of many of those who participated in the research is distressing, highlighting the serious consequences for individuals when support cannot be accessed.

The context around these experiences were the efforts of NHS, local authorities and independent care providers (working together as Health and Social Care Partnerships) to ensure support was available to meet all assessed (and anticipated) need, within safe staffing levels. Plans took into account high rates of staff absence, due to sickness and isolation. The restrictions, and necessary steps to protect staff, meant that many social workers and social care staff would be limited in their ability to work. The focus was on protecting critical services for those most in need. However, the timeframe for how long this would be needed was not clear at the outset, and the working assumption was that measures to reduce care packages for some (to ensure some access for all) would be required for weeks, not months. It is clear now that the impact of these measures varied across Scotland, reflecting different levels and types of pre-pandemic service provision and workforce demographics. But in all areas of Scotland those requiring social care support, and those caring for them, have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic because of the limits the reductions of support place on an individual’s independence (beyond the national restrictions everyone has had to adapt to).

Because many face-to-face support services such as day centres and support groups had their operations significantly reduced as a result of public health requirements, the pressure of continually caring for people during the crisis will also have had an effect on the wellbeing of carers. Carers who support their family members or friends to live independently have experienced isolation and reduced support, with many increasing their caring hours to protect the supported person from additional footfall into their homes and related risks of exposure to the virus.

The SHRC report calls for the social care system to be reimagined as a dynamic interplay within a social infrastructure which supports citizens’ human rights as individuals within families and communities. SASW and Social Work Scotland agree strongly with this vision, but take this opportunity to emphasise that it is only possible when the system is populated by sufficient numbers of skilled people, committed and enabled to deliver the best outcomes for individuals. Such a system, requiring a significantly larger ‘workforce’, is not possible within current funding levels. A return to pre-COVID-19 structures and mechanisms of support, even if funding were increased, would not address the issues flagged by the SHRC report.

It is likely that one of the effects of the pandemic will be to increase the number of people needing health and social work and social care support as a result of:

• The immediate impact of illness, loss and grief and trauma
• The economic impact which may mean more individuals and families experience derivation and poverty which is a key factor in bringing people to social services
• The longer-term impact of long-covid, the reduction in planned health treatment and the need for physical distancing reducing opportunities for preventative and early intervention means that more people will have higher levels of chronic physical, mental health and social needs.

We take heart from examples highlighted in the Care Inspectorate’s report, ‘Delivering care at home and housing support services during the COVID-19 pandemic’[21], where local partnerships successfully adapted and flexed their support to meet people’s needs during the pandemic. Teams in local government and the voluntary and private sectors have innovated and adjusted, put people’s needs before contractual hours. The capacity for change and positive reform is in place, and we look forward to the upcoming discussions about how to realise that, in response to the Independent Review of Adult Social Care.

Question 4: What do the Scottish Government and public authorities (e.g. local authorities, health boards etc.) need to change or improve: as a matter of urgency & in the medium to long term?

This question frames a critical debate in an unhelpful way. Locating responsibility for change and improvement solely with Scottish Government and public authorities not only presumes that they have the capacity / resources to effect changes, it encourages us all to see the problem as ‘theirs’ to resolve. The issues we have profiled in this response, such as poverty, structural inequalities and the public-civic infrastructure which give effect to people’s human rights, can only be addressed through both political and societal action. As with climate change, or changes to consumption that limit our impact on biodiversity, public authorities of all kinds are key players. But in democracies like Scotland, they move and act within a space we, the public, give them. Calling for public authorities to effect changes that will require significantly more resources, without our clearly accepting the need to provide those resources (through taxes, government borrowing or reallocation of existing spend), will simply perpetuate the public policy debates we have had for the past ten to fifteen years.

The funding of social care

Social Work Scotland and SASW are particularly concerned about the impacts of the deepening financial crisis in social care, which we have highlighted recently in our respective submissions to the Independent Review of Adult Social Care (IRASC).  The crisis also exists in children and families social work services, and criminal justice social work, which are not within the scope of the Independent Review of Adult Social Care.

Adult social care spending per head in Scotland has fallen dramatically for Scotland’s older people, less so in England but more than it has in Wales (see graph in download here).

Spending per head on adults aged 18-64 – mainly people with learning disabilities or physical disabilities, or in need of mental health support — has fared better, but in Scotland is back to the 2010-11 levels whilst the numbers of people living with disabilities, or with mental health problems, have both increased in Scotland, as in the rest of the UK. (The figures in the graph come from the Treasury’s Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2020).

Social Work Scotland’s submission to IRASC on Demographic Change and Adult Social Care Expenditure in Scotland ^[22]is mostly concerned with the Scottish Government’s own H&SC Medium Term Financial Framework (2018), which estimated the increased demands at 3.5% for adult social care as a whole, and 1% for the NHS.

We found that the estimated additional spend on 3.5% per year for adult social care is well supported by research in England by the London School of Economics using sophisticated modelling from survey data not available in Scotland.  That also shows that the additional demand for services for younger adults with a learning or physical disability, due largely to improved longevity, is at similar annual percentage increases as demand from older people.

However, our analysis does not support the lower increases for the NHS in the H&SC Medium Term Financial Framework – these are 1% per year for demography, compared to estimates by the Institute for Fiscal Studies of 2.2% per year for England and the UK as a whole (in their major study Securing the future published earlier in 2018).

Our analysis also does not support the annual workforce increases set out in the Scottish Government’s Integrated Health and Social Care Workforce Plan for Scotland published in December 2010, which stated that:

The Scottish Government’s Medium Term Financial Framework (MTFF) estimates that to address the effects of demand, we will require 1.3% per annum more NHS employees and 1.7% per annum more social care employees in the period to 2023/24”.

Those figures cannot be found in the MTFF and, we believe, are incorrect. In any event, Scottish Government funding to councils for adult social care has not been increased to the level required to meet demography, yet alone address the unmet need that has accumulated for survivors of the decade of austerity. Increased funding for social care needs to fully recognise the impacts of demographic change, in line with the Scottish Government’s own medium-term planning, and on a corrected basis for the NHS in Scotland.

The role and status of social work

Social work is one of the few ‘key worker’ professions which is, when able to operate as conceived, proactive and person-led. It exists (and in legislation is empowered) to take action in defence or support of people made vulnerable by their circumstances. Those we work with may be less likely to be heard, and may struggle to stay afloat when the scaffolding of support is stripped away (as it has been during COVID-19). Social work sees people in their own individual context, recognising that an individual’s relationships, strengths, interests, etc. constitute the person, and that to give meaning to their human rights is to reinforce and promote those assets. But we must also balance individual rights with those of others, and consider the risks of certain actions to the individual themselves, their families and wider society. Our role must be to enable those people to have a voice, and to provide protective support or intervention where that becomes necessary.

As illustrated above, before COVID-19 social work (and the wider social care system it underpins) was already facing significant financial constraint; demand and aspiration not matched by available budgets. The 2019/20 COSLA report Investing in Essential Services, highlighted the challenges local authorities face to meet the outcomes and targets identified in the national performance framework within existing resources, referencing specifically child poverty and vulnerable adults[23]. The strain that the social care system is under, and the conditions in which care professionals must practice, has been well documented in a range of reports from academics and institutions. The latest such report from the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) (Decent work in Scotland’s Care Homes) highlights a sector facing ‘systemic issues, a lack of respect and in need of cultural change’[24].

Within the current landscape, social work professionals – trained to respect and uphold human rights and work alongside individuals and communities (balancing and holding needs, risks and interests) – find themselves working in systems which can force them to be ‘assessors’ of risk and gatekeepers to over-rationedrvices.[25]  This not only means we fail to realise the human rights and outcomes potential of social work, but we slowly erode the enthusiasm and commitment of the professionals themselves.

While there has been positive innovation, acceleration of developments and much useful learning from the past year, the pandemic has made it harder to work alongside people and families at the challenging points and transitions in their lives. This has posed a unique challenge to social work, which is support based within and upon relationships. Feedback from our members has highlighted a number of further issues for the profession, limiting our ability to provide support and services and significantly affecting the working conditions and wellbeing of social workers. We would welcome any opportunity to discuss this further with the Committee.

Social Work Scotland’s Chief Social Work Officer (CSWO) committee has reported that the pandemic’s impact on the social work profession has been to compound pre-existing issues. These include dealing with real term reductions in budgets (which in turn increases workload on individuals), difficulties in recruitment, lacking visibility and authority in key decision-making forums, the disparity in social work and social care’s pay and conditions between health and social care partnerships. The split professional leadership across adults, justice and children and families is also seen, by some, to weaken oversight and coordination.

In July 2020 the Social Workers’ Union[26] reported that one third of social workers are considering leaving the profession as a direct result of the pandemic. The union released an action plan calling for increased mental health support, a social work recruitment drive and a pledge not to re-introduce austerity measures post-pandemic.

As we move through and, hopefully, out of the pandemic, we would like to see and contribute to a re-imagining of the role and functions of public services. People are not simply ‘rights holders’ and professionals (such as social workers) are not simply ‘duty bearers’; we are all people, facing the challenges presented by the context, trying to deliver the optimum outcomes for individual and society, while having to balance competing interests, rights, demands and priorities. Similarly, public services must embrace greater creativity in how they support people to give meaning to their human rights and find genuine wellbeing. That will require a workforce who feel equipped and empowered to do what they were trained to do. The Human Rights Taskforce due to report in March 2021 will, no doubt, be considering a range of ways that public services and others can achieve this, and the Independent Review of Adult Social Care and The Promise are re-imagining support services for key groups.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact:

Flora Aldridge

Social Work Scotland

Flora.aldridge@socialworkscotland.org

Emily Galloway

SASW

Emily.galloway@basw.co.uk

[1] See World Health Organisation website: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it

[2] https://www.basw.co.uk/media/news/2020/oct/port-storm-poverty-aware-social-work-pandemic

[3] https://www.trusselltrust.org/2020/09/14/new-report-reveals-how-coronavirus-has-affected-food-bank-use/

[4]https://scotland.shelter.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/1934099/Shelter_Scotland_briefing_LGCC_Homelessness_and_Covid_140820.pdf/_nocache

[5] IBID page 91

[6] See Social Work Scotland supplementary submissions to the Independent Review of Adult Social Care: https://socialworkscotland.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/SWS-Supp-Sub-1-DEMOGRAPHIC-CHANGE-AND-ADULT-SOCIAL-CARE-EXPENDITURE-IN-SCOTLAND.pdf; and https://socialworkscotland.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/SWS-Supp-Sub-2-ASC-EXPENDITURE-IN-THE-DECADE-OF-AUSTERITY.pdf.

[7] ABOUT THE MODEL – Safe & Together Institute (safeandtogetherinstitute.com)

[8] https://www.scra.gov.uk/2020/10/sexual-exploitation-of-children-new-research-report/

[9] https://socialworkscotland.org/contextual-safeguarding-event-2020/

[10] Coronavirus (COVID-19): children, young people and families – evidence and intelligence reports (various)

[11] https://socialworkscotland.org/publication/connections-for-wellbeing/

[12] The IRISS summary of a University of Edinburgh/City of Edinburgh Knowledge exchange project illustrates the value of this rights based approach in the most urgent of circumstances https://www.iriss.org.uk/sites/default/files/2020-06/recognition_matters_briefing_june_2020.pdf

[13] National Records of Scotland: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/general-publications/weekly-and-monthly-data-on-births-and-deaths/deaths-involving-coronavirus-covid-19-in-scotland (Week 53)

[14] OLDER PEOPLE BEING PRESSURISED INTO SIGNING DO NOT ATTEMPT CPR FORMS – JOINT STATEMENT FROM AGE SECTOR ORGANISATIONS | Media | Age UK

[15] Detentions for mental health care during the pandemic – new report | Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland (mwcscot.org.uk)

[16] route-map-4.pdf (everyonehome.scot)

[17] Letter for Humza Yousaf, MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Justice from SASW | www.basw.co.uk

[18] https://socialworkscotland.org/briefings/reducing-the-backlog-of-unpaid-work-hours-coronavirus-scotland-act-2020/

[19] https://socialworkscotland.org/consultation/pre-budget-scrutiny-2021-22-justice-committee-call-for-views/

[20] https://www.scottishhumanrights.com/media/2102/covid-19-social-care-monitoring-report-vfinal.pdf, Chapter 3, page 15

[21] https://hub.careinspectorate.com/media/4171/delivering-cah-and-hss-during-the-covid-19-pandemic.pdf

[22] https://socialworkscotland.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/SWS-Supp-Sub-1-DEMOGRAPHIC-CHANGE-AND-ADULT-SOCIAL-CARE-EXPENDITURE-IN-SCOTLAND.pdf

[23] https://www.cosla.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0021/14808/cosla-investinessentialservices.pdf

[24] https://dwsc-research.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Decent-Work-in-Scottish-Care-Homes-Report-Final.pdf

[25] https://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/publications/DC20011129CCD8single.pdf

[26] SWU: Social Work’s Six-Point Urgent Action Plan | www.basw.co.uk

Pre-Budget Scrutiny 2021-22: Justice Committee call for views

PRE-BUDGET SCRUTINY 2021-22

SUBMISSION FROM SOCIAL WORK SCOTLAND, TO SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT JUSTICE COMMITTEE’S CALL FOR VIEWS

27.10.2020

Social Work Scotland is the professional body for social work leaders, working closely with our partners to shape policy and practice, and improve the quality and experience of social services. We welcome this opportunity to feed into the Justice Committee’s scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s budget for 2021-22.

1. What is your view on the current trends in funding in the justice portfolio and the Scottish Government’s rationale for these? 

Social Work Scotland supports the Scottish Government’s Community Justice: Reducing Re-offending priorities set out in the Scottish Budget 2020 – 21, with its aim of “increasing the use of community-based interventions and reducing the use of imprisonment”^[1]. Research points to “a number of studies (that) have found […] community sentences are more effective in reducing reoffending than short-term prison sentences”^[2]. However, whilst we endorse the presumption against short term sentences (PASS) we do not yet see the paradigm shift required in funding community sentences in Scotland that evidences a commitment to putting policy into practice. At 24 October the prison population was 7,439^[3].

In this current year we welcomed the specific additional funding for the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), to further extend bail supervision, and to develop or establish structured deferred sentence (SDS) schemes, which came in Part 2 of the grant allocation (referred to as s27) to criminal justice social work (CJSW). Prior to the Coronavirus pandemic there was an increasing focus on expanding early intervention measures such as Diversion from Prosecution and SDS. We support this for many reasons, e.g. they help individuals to avoid unnecessary contact with the criminal justice system and they enable swift interventions which can interrupt a cycle of offending and/or prevent further offending. However, looking ahead, increasing the number of cases without a concomitant increase in resources will undermine the potential for successful interventions. Many of the strategies now in place to deal with the backlog within the justice system require heavy input from CJSW, but simultaneously the capacity of CJSW has reduced; (we discuss this further later in this submission).

Moreover, specific programmes of activity require greater investment if they are to deliver socially significant outcomes. For example, work currently underway to implement the expansion of electronic monitoring (EM) capacity, for bail and as a new requirement of a community payback order (CPO), promises to reduce the high numbers on remand in Scotland’s prisons and support robust and effective community disposals. However, as the Electronic Monitoring in Scotland Working group report makes clear, “if longer term desistance is required it must be combined with measures which help individuals to change their behaviour”^[4]. The expansion of EM will require additional funding to ensure this support is provided by both statutory and Third Sector services. Not to do so risks undermining the efficacy of EM policy.

The Scottish Budget 2020 – 21 refers to “appropriately resourced community-based interventions”^[5] in order to achieve the community justice priorities. We argued in our submission to the Justice Committee in September 2019 that “Despite the seismic change in the demands and requirements placed on CJSW since the early 2000s, there has not been a comprehensive review to quantify and accurately cost the component parts of the work CJSW does”^[6]. This state of affairs has not changed, and the perspective of CJSW managers and practitioners (the people SWS represents) is that current levels of funding do not accurately reflect the true cost of delivering a Community Justice agenda. This particularly applies to the core of CJSW work, such as CPOs and the associated delivery of programmes such as the Caledonian System for perpetrators of domestic abuse and Moving Forward: Making Changes (MFMC) for sex offenders.

The fact remains that unless and until this systemic underfunding is addressed, the ability of CJSW (in partnership with the third sector) to consistently provide high quality interventions is restricted or reduced. To illustrate, in reference to the Caledonian System mentioned above, funding for the original 13 local authorities involved has flatlined since its inception in 2011. Consequently, one local authority, Falkirk, is dismantling the Forth Valley Programmes team they host (on behalf of Stirling and Clackmannanshire) as the costs of running the service far outweigh the funding received. Falkirk can no longer afford to subsidise the funding from the core CJSW grant allocation. (Moreover, funding from Scottish Government for this flagship programme to tackle domestic abuse is still not available to all 32 local authorities leading to a postcode lottery for perpetrators and victims.) This is not an isolated example.

Without question there is a rich and diverse array of services provided by the Third Sector that are available across the country. We support the current delivery model where CJSW services procure and commission services from Third Sector partners according to identified local need and priority, e.g. for employability services for individuals that have offended, mentoring services or offending behaviour programmes. We would welcome increased core funding to CJSW to unlock this potential, building on the community justice partnership model that is now well established, implementing plans which are based on local needs assessments.

2. What has been the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic on the activities of your organisation and its spending requirements?

Social Work Scotland set out the impact of the pandemic relating to unpaid work in our position paper to the Cabinet Secretary on 16 July^[7]. We understand this was forwarded to the Convenor of the Justice Committee on 20 July. We concluded that due to the accruing backlog of hours (now approximately 720,000) and the reduced capacity resulting from Scottish Government restrictions relating to Coronavirus that there was an urgent need to proactively address the pressures faced by CJSW. We made it clear that action was required under the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 to vary existing orders relating to unpaid work or other activity to the total number of outstanding hours to be worked by 450,000. This remains the case.

However, the pandemic continues to affect all aspects of CJSW business. During the initial phase of lockdown staff, particularly those facilitating unpaid work, were redirected to assistant with the emergency response. COVID-19 has reduced our capacity to deliver all services, particularly those which require face-to-face activity or which are difficult with social distancing. Options are also limited by the individual restrictions involved with track and trace, local lockdowns, and pressure on the use of buildings and associated health and safety requirements. This means the number of staff in an office at any one time is reduced by up to two-thirds in order to protect both staff and individuals. Criminal justice social work reports and assessments take longer and whilst many areas have re-started group work this is with much reduced numbers. Some individuals are now finishing their CPOs or prison licence without completing crucial offending related interventions, e.g. sex offending programmes – “There is accruing evidence that offenders who do not complete treatment are at greater risk of recidivism than those who do complete treatment”^[8]. The Third Sector and other statutory services have been similarly affected.

It is important to remember that when we talk about the ‘resources’ required for most public services we are actually talking about people; bodies on the ground, with the necessary skills, who can do the work. This is particularly true in CJSW, where typically 70 – 80% of overall budgets is personnel. Whilst private business has the autonomy to reduce their activities (however painful that might be financially), public bodies must still meet their statutory duties, and CJSW cannot reduce the demand on our services.

This will not change in the foreseeable future, and even if a vaccine were available soon, we expect the impact of the 2020 pandemic to affect CJSW capacity and activity throughout 2021/22 at least. Indeed, crucially, the backlog of outstanding court business (due to closures of courts this year) will extend far beyond 2021/22 – modelling^[9] seen by SWS suggests that relative to the baseline of 2018/19, for example, there will be a significant year-on-year increase in CPOs until at least 2025 of up to 38%. Therefore, urgent action is required now by the Scottish Parliament to allow all justice sector agencies (a whole system approach is critical) to put plans in place to address the current and looming crisis. From a CJSW perspective, the risk of not doing so will lead to services being overwhelmed, individuals not receiving the vital services and interventions they require with a concomitant increase in the risk of reoffending. This will, in turn, undermine the confidence of the judiciary and the public in community sentences. And we would stress that there is not a viable alternative to community justice. Prisons are not only much more expensive, but also less effective in delivering the changes in individual behaviour a modern criminal justice system must seek to deliver. It we are, collectively, interested in ‘value’ from our public spending, our efforts must be focus on ensuring our community justice infrastructure is fit to meet the demand we put on it.

Over the last few months there has been significant strain in existing CJSW budgets. there have been additional costs to employ temporary, sessional staff to increase capacity in unpaid work squads. This is because CJSW has had to limit the number of individuals a supervisor can safely supervise, and due to a decrease in the availability of individual placements. There have been costs associated with making changes to buildings (new doors, flooring, chairs etc.) to meet health and safety guidance, e.g. increased cost for PPE, cleaning materials, transport for unpaid work, Portaloos (where public toilets are closed), installation of Perspex screens in interview rooms, the upgrading of IT connectivity – Smart Phones and headsets as well as equipment for safe working from home (chairs, desks etc.), increased welfare need and associated payments, predominantly related to mental health and drug and alcohol, and other essentials for individuals (e.g. phone, food etc.).

CJSW continue to use phone and virtual platforms to engage with individuals. However, for the majority of individuals they need to be seen and work needs to be carried out directly with them. We know that this professional relationship is critical to effective interventions^[10].

3. What is the likely change to your needs in the financial year 2021/22 because of COVID-19 and more generally?

CJSW will need to manage the balance between the reduced capacity for staff to be in buildings, working from home, and having sufficient staff to cope with the expected increase in workload due to the backlog of court business, on top of the existing backlog of work. There will be the need to increase staffing to meet the demand and the reduced capacity in order to ensure individuals complete their unpaid work hours and receive the interventions on orders that they are assessed as requiring – in the coming year that is likely to mean employing locum social workers, paying existing staff overtime, recruiting additional unpaid work supervisors and para-professionals, commissioning services from the Third Sector etc.

We would argue for an increase in funding to allow plans to be put into action to increase capacity and meet these challenges in order to protect communities, keep victims safe and hold individuals to account. Recent increases in staff costs have been met from wider local authority budgets in some areas, whilst other areas face the prospect of a detrimental impact on non-staff funds/service delivery; some are not filling vacancies due to budget constraints. There have been other ongoing pressures, such as auto-enrolment for pensions which have driven up the cost of employer contributions (£100,000 in one council). The cross-subsidising of CJSW from other budgets is becoming unsustainable, when all public service budgets are under such strain. This is set against a backdrop of prolonged austerity for many parts of local government, with continued year-on-year budget reductions, now coupled with the impact of the pandemic.

As referred to above (in question 1), local authorities were awarded additional funding this year for SDS and bail services. Scottish Government stipulated this could be utilised as a response to the pandemic. This is welcomed but it remains unclear whether this is a recurring amount; this creates uncertainty – some CJSW have created short-term posts funded to March 2021 as a response to the pandemic.

There is also likely to be additional capital expenditure in the year ahead, e.g. additional workshop facilities or to replace existing infrastructure no longer fit for purpose.

The current funding formula was introduced 4 years ago and 2021/22 will be the last year of the transition period to protect those local authorities adversely affected by this, e.g. in one local authority the net reduction in the CJSW Budget from 2016/17, the last year of the old funding model, to 2019/20 was £672,000. The annual funding model currently used is not fit for purpose. It restricts our ability to plan and sustain services, including services purchased from the Third Sector. It leads to short-term contractual arrangements and undermines our ability to retain staff. As an outcome of the comprehensive review of costs associated with Scotland’s community justice approach (which we have called for over a number of years), a new funding model should be adopted.

4. How has your organisation adapted to working during the pandemic, what further changes are needed and what changes are you planning to retain after the pandemic has ended?

Throughout the national lockdown, except for unpaid work (now restarted), CJSW maintained the delivery of services and continued to manage the risk of individuals, albeit remotely and at a reduced levels focussing on higher risk of harm and the most vulnerable individuals. MAPPA, MARAC (to protect those at risk of domestic abuse) and MATAC (targeting perpetrators of domestic abuse) continued uninterrupted, with meetings moving to virtual platforms or using phone conferencing. However, most offices were shut, and staff worked from home. As indicated above, whilst there has been a return to offices this is at a much-reduced capacity and the mix of home and office work will continue for the foreseeable future. The complex services CJSW deliver legally require specially trained and qualified social workers. However, there is greater capacity to deliver alternative to prosecution and custody services by para-professional staff and/or third sector partners. This will require further structural and financial change, introducing greater flexibility into the system.

CJSW continue to explore the virtual delivery of services. For example, the delivery of the ‘other activity’ component of an unpaid work requirement through online modules (mental health, employability etc.) which an individual can access from their home and discussions are ongoing with the Third Sector offering advice and guidance as to what is required.

The issue of digital poverty has been highlighted by the pandemic and well-articulated^[11]. CJSW are engaged with the development of the virtual custody initiative. We believe there is the scope to further deliver services virtually to individuals. For example, establishing a secure and reliable platform to effectively ‘FaceTime’ individuals regularly whether they are in prison or the community. This will not be appropriate for all and would require assessment on a case-by-case basis, but for lower risk individuals or where a person has completed interventions and is effectively being monitored this would provide an efficient additional method of supervision, i.e. a blend of contact in person and remotely. This has particular, post-pandemic applicability in remoter rural and island authorities. Ideally, all justice sector agencies should use the same platform for improved reliability and connectivity.

5. What other matters and pressures on spending do you wish to bring to the attention of the Committee?

There are risks and opportunities in the urgent drive to ‘build back better’ across the justice sector. Local authority criminal justice social work will be central to that effort, given the range of statutory responsibilities it has. But securing long-term change requires capacity; people with the skills and time to facilitate the change, and sufficient numbers of people to deliver the changed system that we’re building. Lack of attention and investment in either of those elements will mean we are left with sound plans but limited success.

We have outlined above some of the many challenges and pressures on CJSW pre-dating coronavirus. These will continue to affect service delivery across Scotland for the foreseeable future, but now with the added complexity of covid-19. If we are truly serious as a nation in creating a modern human rights-based justice system that reflects and addresses the needs of individuals and victims, and one that is evidenced based, we cannot afford to continue to lock up so much resource in prisons. The 2020-21 budget is an opportunity to seize the moment and make the necessary paradigm shift. That requires courage and boldness from our political leaders and representatives; a willingness to stand up to vested interests and a commitment to a fundamental reappraisal of the funding and delivery landscape, led by the evidence and our country’s belief in human rights and best value.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact:

James Maybee

Chair of Social Work Scotland’s Justice Standing Committee & Principal Officer (Criminal Justice Social Work), The Highland Council

James.Maybee@highland.gov.uk

[1] Scottish Budget 2020-21 (Scottish Government, 2020)

[2] What Works to Reduce Reoffending: A Summary of the Evidence, pp5, Dr. Maria Sapouna et al, Justice Analytical Services, Scottish Government, May 2015

[3] Scottish Prison Service 24/10/20 https://www.sps.gov.uk/Corporate/Information/SPSPopulation.aspx

[4] Electronic Monitoring in Scotland Working Group, Final Report pp4-5, Scottish Government 2016

[5] Ibid.

[6] Pre-budget scrutiny for 2020-21 Budget Submission from Social Work Scotland 27/9/20 https://www.parliament.scot/S5_JusticeCommittee/General%20Documents/submissions_prebudget.pdf  pp67 – 74

[7] Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 Position Paper, Submission from Social Work Scotland to Scottish Government 10/7/20 https://socialworkscotland.org/briefings/reducing-the-backlog-of-unpaid-work-hours-coronavirus-scotland-act-2020/

[8] Is treatment non-completion associated with increased reconviction over no treatment? Mary McMurran & Eleni Theodosi, Journal of Psychology, Crime & Law pp333-343, 9/7/07

[9] SWS acknowledges a degree of caution as to the precise accuracy of the modelling which is unpublished; however, that there will be an impact is undisputed. We urgently call for clear modelling in order to allow agencies to comprehensively plan during and after the pandemic.

[10] For example, see A desistance paradigm for offender management, Fergus McNeill, Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde, Criminology & Criminal Justice. 2006 SAGE Publications

[11] How having a mobile phone can save your life, Karyn McCluskey, The Scotsman 4/5/20

Response to the Scottish Sentencing Council consultation on sentencing young people

Submission from Social Work Scotland to the Scottish Sentencing Council consultation on sentencing young people

21.08.2020

Social Work Scotland is the professional body for social work leaders and managers, working closely with partners in all sectors to shape policy and practice, with a view to continuously improving the quality and experience of social services in Scotland. We welcome this opportunity to comment on the proposed sentencing guidelines for young people.

Q1. Do you agree or disagree that a principle-based approach to the guideline is the right approach?

Agree. For the reasons set out in the consultation paper. The value of a sentencing guideline for young people is the opportunity it presents to emphasise the relevant developmental and contextual factors which should be taken into account when sentences are considered. Those developmental and contextual factors apply in all circumstances, regardless of the type of offence, so it makes sense to utilise a principle-based approach.

Q2. Do you agree or disagree that the guideline should apply to people under the age of 25?

Agree. If there was an option, our response would be ‘strongly agree’. The consultation paper summarises well the breadth and weight of evidence in support of an expansive definition of ‘young person’, including all those under the age of 25. Scotland’s criminal justice system must reflect the best available evidence about why people commit offences, and what measures are effective in deterring such behaviour in the future. If our central objective remains securing justice for victims through appropriate sentencing, we are failing victims, the individuals involved in offending and society at large, if we demand ineffective measures of punishment (which for most children and young people includes incarceration).

The age of 25 is also consistent with Scottish law for children in care, which recognises the evolving capacity of young people, and their continued need for assistance and supportive relationships well into adulthood.

Indeed we hope that future guidelines will make clear that for everyone, capacity is an evolving, unfixed thing, determined by a range of factors. Although we can accept that an age bracket be applied in this instance, our hope is that this ‘threshold’ will not actually mean much, as in all instances courts will give detailed and careful consideration to an individual’s capacity, regardless of their age. Specific guidelines for young people are welcome in that they will cement such considerations into practice for cases involving under 25 year olds, but such practice should be standard in all cases.

We can also accept the restriction of the guidelines to those individuals who are young at the time of sentencing, for the reasons given in the consultation paper. However, this detail underlines the importance – albeit outwith the Scottish Sentencing Council’s purview – of ensuring the process from charge to trial is swift and efficient. It would be palpably unfair (and potential open to appeal) for an individual to potentially receive, for the same offence, materially different kinds of sentence at two different points in time, determined purely on the basis of whether the individual is considered a ‘young person’ or ‘adult’ at the time of sentencing.

Q3. If you disagree that the guideline should apply to people under the age of 25, at what age should the guideline cease to apply?

N/A

Q4. Do you agree or disagree that the relationship between this guideline and the ‘Principles and purposes of sentencing’ guideline is set out clearly?

Agree. The proposal to make direct links between the two documents, allowing this guideline to be kept brief, seems sensible.

Q5. Do you agree or disagree that paragraph 7 of the guideline gives enough information about the factors that should be taken into account when sentencing a young person?

Disagree. While we welcome the Sentencing Council’s efforts to keep the guidelines brief and concise, we feel an opportunity may be missed (perhaps in the form of an annex or appendix) to set out, in more detail, the types of factors which should be taken into account. For example, the guideline could highlight the higher incidence of mental health issues among young people involved in offending, or the impact of abuse, neglect and loss. There is no explicit mention of the relevance of care experience, and perhaps more importantly, how this should be considered.

Ideally the proposed level of information in the guideline would be sufficient, prompting further inquiry and investigation into the evidence underpinning it. However, remaining aware of the pressures judges are under, a guideline which itself provides a clear introduction to these factors may be necessary.

For comparison, the ‘Welfare’ section of the Sentencing Council’s Sentencing Children and Young People Guideline provides significantly more detail on the factors which the court should consider when determining a sentence.

Q6. If you do not agree that paragraph 7 of the guideline gives enough information about the factors that should be taken into account when sentencing a young person, what additional information should it provide?

Provided answer in response to question 5.

Q7. Do you agree or disagree that rehabilitation should be given greater emphasis than other purposes of sentencing in this guideline?

Agree. Rehabilitation is rightly described as the primary consideration, and we welcome the fact that the guideline clearly frames the purpose of sentencing as the identification of a disposal most likely to reduce the risk of reoffending. As the evidence summarised in the consultation paper suggests, this should encourage decisions which seek to address the young person’s needs, rather than punish their actions.

Q8. Do you agree or disagree that rehabilitation should be a primary consideration when sentencing a young person?

Agree. Reasons given in response to question 7.

Q9. Which, if any, other purposes of sentencing should be emphasised in this guideline?

In light of the fact that 50% of respondents thought that protecting the public was the most important purpose of sentencing in general, it may be worthwhile to include a paragraph in the guideline explaining how a focus on effective rehabilitation of young people contributes to public safety, through reductions in recidivism, reduced inequality, etc.

Q10. Is the section on the assessment of seriousness helpful?

Disagree. A section on assessing seriousness is necessary and has the potential to be very helpful in securing the objectives of this guideline, however the current two paragraphs provide little information on why a young person’s maturity will be generally lower than that of an older person. This being a guideline covering individuals widely considered ‘adults’ by society, it is important that relevant opportunities are taken (in the guideline) to explain about an individual’s ‘evolving capacity’, and the now scientifically evidenced distinctions between young adult’s neurobiology and that of older adults.

Although it is acknowledged that readers are encouraged to read the guideline ‘The Sentencing Process’ (para 11), the ‘assessment of seriousness’ section’s utility may be improved by providing a few additional paragraphs on the factors which should be considered when assessing culpability, as well as providing some indication of how maturity should be determined by the court. In respect of the latter process, in our opinion this would be difficult through a court process alone, and will likely depend on external, expert assessments, provided to the judge via reports, etc.

Q11. Do you agree or disagree that paragraph 13 of the guideline identifies the information which is of most relevance to sentencing a young person?

Disagree. As the guideline itself says, the four bullet points of paragraph 13 are provided ‘for example’, and should not be considered the totality of relevant information. Each young person is unique, and the guideline should stress that a judge should seek to secure whatever contextual and background information they require in order to identify an appropriate sentence (the primary purpose of which is rehabilitation).

With the existing bullet points, we would also recommend some re-working. Our suggestions below:
The physical and mental health of the young person, including addictions,
disabilities, etc.

• Accommodation issues
• Childhood background, including care history (if the young person is or was ‘looked after’), prior professional involvement with the family, etc.
• Whether any proposed sentence is likely to be effectively implemented, and what
  steps can be taken to increase the likelihood of effective implementation.

Q12. Do you agree or disagree with paragraph 14 of the guideline stating that cases should be referred to a children’s hearing for advice where it is competent to do so?

Agree.

Q13. Do you agree or disagree with the proposed features of an appropriate sentence for a young person set out at paragraph 15 of the guideline?

Agree. However, would recommend some re-ordering and re-wording, to help achieve the guidelines objectives. The ordering and wording of lists such as this play a significant part in ‘framing’ people and issues in reader’s minds, and so it is important careful attention is given to the impression such a list gives.

For example, starting with ‘Increase the likelihood of aiding the reintegration of the young person into society’ suggests to the reader that the individual concerned is not integrated into society, and is therefore somehow ‘apart from it’. This is not a helpful framing to place around young people who offend, many of whom may be firmly part of their society /community. A judges’ consideration of what is an appropriate sentence may differ for someone they feel is part of society, and for someone who sits ‘outside’ of society.

Similarly, the last bullet point, ‘Assist in developing or maintaining positive connections between the young person and society’, again implies that the young person is somehow separate to the society of which they are part. Some careful rewording could convey the message without inadvertently suggesting things about the young person / young people. We would recommend placing ‘Address the underlying causes of offending behaviour’ as the first bullet point, as from the perspective of rehabilitation being the primary purpose of sentencing, this feature seems of primary importance.

In respect of paragraph 16, the guideline states that the judge should clearly explain the sentence of the young person, to increase the likelihood of the sentence being effective. However, the clarity of the explanation is not, in itself, what is going to make a difference. Rather it is the quality of the young person’s understanding. Therefore we would recommend amending this paragraph so that it encourages judges to make sure the young person has clearly understood the reasons for, and the aims of, of the sentence. Depending on the individual’s maturity and communication needs, that may require external (to the judge / court) support.

Q14. Do you agree or disagree that the approach set out in paragraphs 17 and 18 of the guideline is appropriate?

Agree.

Q15. Do you agree or disagree that judges should consider remitting each case to a children’s hearing for disposal, where it is competent to do so?

Agree. Judges should give this option consideration, where it is competent to do so, helping to ensure that young people’s actions and needs are considered through a welfare lens, with suitably tailored responses / interventions.

Q16. Do you think the guideline will influence sentencing practice in Scotland?

We welcome the introduction of the guideline (and accompanying guidelines), representing as it does, in our view, an important component in the broad effort to ensure the best available evidence and knowledge underpins our justice system. Although we appreciate the document is only a guideline, it provides those operating within and alongside the justice system with clarity about how (and on what basis) the system should operate. Not only should it encourage deeper engagement with the evidence about young people’s offending and rehabilitation, it should also, helpfully, provide for greater consistency and a constructive framing around judges’ decision making.

In assessing whether the guideline has influenced sentencing practice, we encourage the Sentencing Council to consider a formal evaluation, perhaps combining data already collected by the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (on disposals, etc.) with some qualitative element capturing the experiences of young people involved in sentencing.

Q17. Do you agree or disagree that the guideline will increase public understanding of how sentencing decisions in respect of young people are made?

Agree that the guideline has the potential to increase public understanding. In itself the guideline does not provide much information to the casual reader, but with some modifications (such as those recommended in our previous answers) and clear links through to the underlying evidence base, it could make a really valuable contribution.

Considering the public’s interest in offending by children and young people, the guideline is certainly likely to illicit some attention and public debate. We hope that such an opportunity to improve public understanding is not missed.

Q18. Do you agree or disagree that the guideline will increase public confidence in the sentencing of young people?

Do not know. We suspect that in some parts of society the guideline is likely to diminish public confidence in sentencing of young people; particularly with the definition of young people extending to 25 years old. In the view of some in the public, crime should be met by punishment, and a focus on rehabilitation is to pander to offenders and disregard victims.

Often this narrative extends to children and young people, about whom it is argued that, if they are hold enough to commit certain crimes, they are old enough to take responsibility for them (by which they mean adult, custodial sentences). However, while public confidence in the justice system (and sentencing as a key part of that) is absolutely critical, the role of the Scottish Sentencing Council is to support judges to make the best decisions with a view to securing justice. That involves marshalling evidence which shows that ‘punishment’ (often crudely associated with custodial sentences) is often ineffective in changing behaviour, reducing public risk, etc. Other parts of the public, focused on a securing a justice system which reduces crime and increases public safety, will welcome an evidence
based guideline, and will likely have increased confidence in the sentencing of young people.

Q19. Do you agree or disagree with the assessment of the specific, identified impacts
the guideline is expected to have?

Disagree. The impact assessment, understandably, focuses on the impacts within the justice system. There are mentions of the impact on social work, but the conclusion is always that these will be minimal. We have welcomed engagement by the Scottish Sentencing Council to date, seeking to understand the likely impact on social work, but do not feel this has gone far enough to properly articulate the issues local authorities and others may face. For example, in respect to paragraph 50 of the assessment, it states that:

It should be noted that this may require a movement of resources from criminal justice social work departments to children and families’ social work departments. We anticipate this impact will be spread across local authorities and will not be a significant impact compared to the absolute number of cases dealt with by social work departments.

However, local authority resourcing of social work is not as simple as this implies. Justice Social Work funding is, to a significant degree, provided by Scottish Government and ring-fenced for specific purposes. While some local authorities do augment this allocation, not all do. And ring-fenced funding cannot simply moved around between departments.

Similarly, while we agree that a relatively small percentage increase in compulsory supervision orders is unlikely to provoke any long-term structural issues (as noted in paragraph 51 of the impact assessment), the fact of short term resource impact should not be summarily skipped over. Children and families social work, like all social work, is under significant resource pressures, with services being reduced and capacity constrained. At the same time, expectations (particularly through recent legislative measures) are increasing the demand on social work team s in general, and on social workers’ time specifically.

These issues apply equally to paragraph 58 of the impact statement, where it notes that “social work departments may incur additional costs over the short term if the information requested by courts is expanded to include an assessment of maturity”. Our hope and expectation is that, in implementing this guideline, courts will have to request more input from social work. This would be welcome, in the interests of providing the judge with a broad assessment of maturity and therefore culpability. But there will still be an impact, and while after a few years the system will have realigned itself in order to accommodate the demand, over those initial years there will be work in addition to (rather than instead of) current activity. Individuals and teams will either have to absorb this, or other activity will have to be reduced. In planning for the introduction of the guideline, stakeholders should try to better identify the likely impact, and put in place measures to facilitate the transition over the next few years.

But perhaps most significantly, and missing entirely in the impact assessment, is consideration of the additional costs to the system of managing non-custodial disposals for young people with very serious care needs. Such disposals will, in the majority of cases, be the more effective option (in terms of securing rehabilitation), but only if the wider system has the capacity / resources to meet those needs. The care and risk management of young people who may have caused serious harm, but who are simultaneously at risk of harm to themselves and from others, requires teams of highly skilled professionals, working in integrated teams. As the principles underpinning such an approach are better aligned to the available evidence, and the outcomes from it (in respect of recidivism, etc.) superior to
custodial sentences, such teams are better value for money than prisons. But it does not simply equate that the capacity is sitting ready to accommodate the potential increase in work. The Scottish court system should seek confidence that the wider public sector, responsible for implementing its disposals, is equipped to do so. (For further information in this area we recommend discussions the University of Strathclyde’s Centre for Youth and Criminal Justice, and with the Kibble team managing the Interventions for Vulnerable Youth (IVY) project.)

We appreciate these issues are not in the purview of the Sentencing Council directly, but the impact statement should still attempt to quantify or illustrate the expected impact on key related services like social work. That work will help facilitate discussions among relevant other parties, such as Scottish Government and local authorities.

Q20. What benefits do you think will come from the introduction of this guideline, if any?

Primarily, the broadening out and cementing of current judicial best practice, with full and proper consideration given to the young person’s background, context, characteristics and needs when determining sentences. This is likely to require the increased involvement of a range of professionals in the work of the court, providing assessments and expertise.

Q21. What costs (financial or otherwise) do you think will come from the introduction of this guideline, if any?

As noted in our answer to question 19, we believe the impact assessment has underestimated the costs involved. In too many instances, in the absence of hard data, the likely financial and human impact is marginalised as ‘short-term’. This should be readdressed, with a deeper examination of impact undertaken.

However, we reassert our opinion that the additional costs so far identified are welcome, in so much as they represent a move in our justice system towards a more evidence-based, welfare-orientated model.

Q22. Would you like to make any other comments about any matter arising from this consultation?

Feedback from Social Work Scotland members noted:

• In view of the guideline’s explicit recognition of UNCRC, recommend renaming the document ‘Sentencing Children and Young People’. The title and text of the document should reflect the fact that, under the UNCRC, persons are considered children up to age of 18.
• No mention in the guideline of the role or input of parents or carers. Seemed an omission, particularly in relation to those aged 17 – 18.
• No mention of cultural considerations, which should form part of background assessments.
• Recommend explicit references to gender, and how that is taken into account in respect to sentencing.
• Greater emphasis on disability, within the context of assessment of needs, and approaches to rehabilitation.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact:

Ben Farrugia
Director, Social Work Scotland

ben.farrugia@socialworkscotland.org

Consultation response: Youth Justice standards

Social Work Scotland is the professional body for social work leaders, working closely with our partners to shape policy and practice, and improve the quality and experience of social services.

We welcome the opportunity to comment on the Youth Justice Standards. Within the membership of Social Work Scotland there will have been a range of local responses. The views below  do not capture the insights and expertise of all of them.  Suggestions below focus on views about general emphasis,  and specific strengths and concerns about content, meaning and impact.

1. Do the proposed Youth Justice Standards reflect national youth justice priorities?

Yes, ( broadly and allowing for caveats and considerations below, some of which are fundamental)

• The draft Standards are helpfully introduced by integrated reference to national strategy, the Whole System approach, GIRFEC and the National Performance Framework. The preamble/introduction, which focusses upon principles, gives due centrality to UNCRC.
• There is a good  opportunity to strengthen both systems and professional judgement  having some of the UNCRC articles more embedded. (For example in relation to best interests; wellbeing; participation and non-discrimination.)
• However, The Independent Care Review reports have been published just as the Consultation on these Standards have closed and, continuing in the spirit of Kilbrandon, YJ Services have a wave to catch. The Standards have an opportunity to allude to some intersections between the way young people’s holistic needs relate to their needs within YJ services.  A selection of relevant extracts are appended in the box below
• Scotland’s Ambition for children and young people that “ We grow up loved, safe, and respected so that we realise our full potential.” Is a headline that captures the intended outcome for all relevant standards.

2. Do the proposed Youth Justice Standards allow for flexibility to meet local needs?

Yes :

• The draft standards seem functional. They provide a business-like sort hand which could be applied and developed locally within procedures and systems to good effect. Some of the standards are framed already as procedural requirements. Others allow for flexibility in approach

3. What aspects stood out as being the most helpful?

• You provide a strong message by introducing by Lord Kilbrandon’s injunction to respond to deeds in the context of needs.
• The introductory statement about responsibilities of organisations who are listed as “corporate parents” for the purposes of Part 9 of the 2014 is helpful, as is reference to the strategic planning landscape.
• Consideration of supported transitions
• The draft standards are not over lengthy

4. What aspects stood out might benefit from rephrasing or supplement?

• There is reference to a common language and understanding,  the standards depend on an assumed appreciation  of terms within the youth justice landscape. It would be a struggle for some young people to know what some of the standards mean for them.  (“Standard 3 Where appropriate, children should be dealt with out with formal Where that is not possible consideration must be given to the use of alternatives to prosecutorial action, which includes diversion.”) There is a stark contrast with, for example, the tone and accessibility of  secure standards or the ‘new’ standards for health and social care . This is simply a different sort of document. However even, the extent of the meaning/scope of some very helpful references (eg ‘restorative justice’ , or ‘transitions’) might be defined in a glossary. These terms have different meanings in different contexts.
• It would be helpful to give more explicit emphasis to the people/ relationships which are most significant to the young person. These people are not just supports or parts of a holistic assessment, but the most crucial partners in assessment, planning and intervention, and potential elements in the resilience,  growth and recovery from trauma for many young people. The concept of encouraging the skills and relationships that foster resilience could be usefully embedded in the standards.
• It would be appropriate to reference ‘context’ in the core of the standards. This can include appreciation of the young person’s perceptions of risk and resource in place,  family and community.
• It may be appropriate to expect practice that is responsive to cultural and language differences; and explicitly reference a trauma informed approach within the body of the standards.
• There are 2 helpful references to child protection within the standards. However they sound as though they are referencing completely different systems and needs, whereas for a significant number of children, the needs underpinning harmful  and/or offending behaviours will relate to a history of or current abuse or neglect.   The wellbeing of the young person are primary considerations through all assessment, decision making  and action and this emphasis is fairly clear. The phrasing ( regarding wellbeing) in the Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act might usefully be echoed  here
• Would the new (forthcoming) national Guidance on CaRM be referenced ?

5. With reference to the core principles and data sets, will the proposed Youth Justice Standards allow for reliable local and national evaluation of services?

Don’t know

If the issues above are transparently captured in the way that services are self- evaluated and inspected  then it will be possible to answer this question positively.

6. Having read the background information above, do you think the current key questions are sufficient to ensure appropriate scrutiny of services provided to children involved in or at risk of offending, if no then please provide further reasoning and suggested alternatives below?

Don’t know

As above

See references and points made above in relation to relevance of extracts below

Response to Victim Statements Scottish Government consultation

Victim Statements

SUBMISSION FROM SOCIAL WORK SCOTLAND, TO SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION

28 NOVEMBER 2019

Social Work Scotland is the professional body for social work leaders, working closely with our partners to shape policy and practice, and improve the quality and experience of social services.

1. Do you have a favoured option for how we could extend eligibility to make a victim statement?

Option A – expanding eligibility to include the list of serious offences at section 4 of the consultation paper

Option B – expanding eligibility to all cases heard under solemn proceedings

Option C – as per Option B but also including a list of offences which would be eligible for a victim statement even if they were tried as summary proceedings

We favour Option C, in that it ensures the widest extension of the scheme and puts victims more firmly at the centre of the criminal justice system.  The right to make a Victim Impact Statement should be open to all victims, allowing their voice to be heard.

If you favour option C, which offences do you think should be considered for inclusion so they would be eligible for a victim statement even if tried as summary proceedings?

We think all offences in the extended list should be included.

We understand the complexity and resource implications of allowing a victim statement to be made for any offence, and that there is evidence to suggest there is less demand for less serious crimes.  However, the principle of giving every victim the right to say how any offence has impacted on them is one we think Scotland should consider, as is the case in other jurisdictions.

2. To help us decide how to extend the list of current offences for which a victim statement can be made, we need to identify any potential impacts that the changes may have.

No

3. Victim statements must currently be made in writing by the victim. Do you think we should look at piloting new ways for victim statements to be made?

Victims reading their statement in court

We think there is some merit in exploring this option as it would provide the victim with an opportunity to be directly involved and in control of the statement they wish to make, and to express their thoughts and feelings as they would wish.

However, we are also cautious about this option.  Victims would need to be well supported to make an informed choice, as well as prepared and supported through the process itself.  There is a risk, potentially significant, that victims are are retraumatised by the experience of reading out their statement in court.  Ensuring support workers are trained in trauma-informed practice would be essential.

Some victims may also have difficulty with reading, which would impact on their ability to articulate their statement clearly.  We know that a sentencing diet can be postponed for many reasons, including at very short notice and on the day of the court.  This may happen more than once.  This may engender considerable frustration, even anger on the part of the victim, and may prevent victims being able to move forward with their lives.   It is a balance between respecting the rights of victims and the unintended consequence of causing more harm.

Pre-recording the statement on video

There is less risk with this option than physically reading a statement, but it would maintain the value of victims feeling in full control of their statement and its delivery.  It would allow the victim to record their statement safely and without undue pressure and to directly express themselves without the potential pitfalls expressed above.  It would address the issues around literacy.

Pre-recording the statement with audio only 

Like a video statement, but this option offers a degree of anonymity whilst still allowing the victim’s ‘voice’ to be directly heard.

The judge reading the statement aloud to the court  

Whilst precluding physically seeing and/or hearing the voice of a victim, it is a safe option that offers protection for the victim and certainty that their written statement will be heard.

Other options

We think another option should be for a relative or friend of the victim to read the statement out in court.  In situations where the victim, for whatever reason, felt unable to do this him/herself, being able to select a person of their own choosing to act on their behalf means they would retain more ownership and control over the Victim Statement than, for example, if it was read out by a judge or sheriff.

Another option would be for Victim Support Scotland given their current role and expertise in supporting victims and offering advice and guidance on Victim Statements, to offer a service to facilitate the provision of Victime Statements to the court.

For options (1) – (5) there would need to be clear guidelines as to how they are conducted, e.g. use of language, tone of voice, use of self, etc.

4. To help us decide whether we should pilot news ways for victim statements to be made, we need to identify any potential impacts that any changes may have.

No

5. Are there any other aspects of the current victim statement scheme which you consider could be improved?

Victims often question the extent to which their voice is heard within the criminal justice system.  The system is seen as all about the individual that has offended, with little attention paid to victims.

We believe there is some truth in this, and that more could and should be done to put victims at the heart of the criminal justice system. Victim Statements offer a potentially powerful took with which to articulate the impact on victims at different points in the journey, and to hold people to account for their actions, decisions, etc.

For example, justice social work (JSW) prepared 28,400 criminal justice social work reports (CJSWR) in 2017/18 to assist the court in determining the right sentence for the individual.  Each report analyses the offence(s) and requires an explicit analysis of ‘the level of recognition by the offender on the impact/consequences of the offence(s) on the victim/community’ (question taken from the national CSJWR template, Scottish government 2011).  However, in most cases the justice social worker is reliant on the terms of the charge(s) and what the individual tells them in interview.  The social worker does not receive the Crown Office’s Summary of Evidence or any other independent and objective account of an offence and the consequences for a victim.  (There are exceptions to this, for example some sexual and domestic offences.)  This not only disadvantages the social worker in providing a fully informed analysis and assessment of risk and need, but also denies the victim an opportunity to articulate how the crime has impacted them.

Notwithstanding GDPR and setting out the terms of information sharing and use, with the consent of the victim the statement could be shared with JSW to help inform the CJSWR and supervision with the individual on a Community Payback Order, and his or her progression through a prison sentence, including the parole process (and we welcome the clear consensus to strengthen the voice of victims in the parole process as summarised in the Transforming Parole in Scotland: consultation report [Scottish government, November 2019]).  This information would better ensure people are held to account for their crimes and ensure the victim’s voice is heard.

This change would cost little but the impact would be considerable and ensure the rights of victims are continually heard throughout an individual’s order or sentence.  We think this is worth considering with victims and Victim’s organisations.

Similarly, there is also the potential to consider how Victim Statements can enhance Restorative Justice processes.

We also think this is an opportunity to review the Victim Statement template, its availability (it’s not currently freely available, including on-line), the timing of when it is done and ensuring victims know what happens to their statement.

6. Do you have any views on whether we should consider amending the definition of who is eligible to make a victim statement (as set out in section 14 of the 2003 Act), to help ensure all relevant victims are able to make a statement if they wish?

Although this is not something being planned alongside changes to the current scheme, SWS think there is merit in reviewing the current eligibility set out in the 2003 Act.  Specifically, this should consider extending this to children, or their parent/carer on their behalf, as is the case in victim statement schemes in other jurisdictions.  This is in accordance with the principle of respecting the rights of children (including UNCRC Article 12) and in acknowledgment of the impact of domestic abuse and other crimes upon them.

7. Are there any data protection related issues that you feel could arise from the proposals set out in this paper?

GDPR legislation came into force in 2018 and any revised statement would require to be proofed against this. This would also apply to the implications if people other than the victim were involved in, for example, recording or reading out a victim’s statement.

As referred to at (5) above careful consideration would be required of widening out the scheme as described.

8. Are there any equality related issues that you feel could arise from the proposals set out in this paper?

No.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact:

admin@socialworkscotland.org

0131 281 0853

Financial redress for historical child abuse in care – pre-legislative consultation

(more…)

Priorities for 2020-21 Budget – SWS Justice Submission

This paper has been written in response to the pre-Budget Scrutiny request for the Justice Committee. With further change expected on the horizon, our submission calls for the Scottish Government and its partners to take a forensic look at how the justice system is working (and CJSW place within it), with a view to establishing a clearer, collective vision of what we are trying to build in Scotland.

• Download a referenced copy of the submission here.

Social Work Scotland is the professional body for social work leaders, working closely with our partners to shape policy and practice, and improve the quality and experience of social services. We welcome this opportunity to feed into the Justice Committee’s scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s budget for 2020-21.

Budgets provided to the public, third and voluntary sectors for health, education, employment, through-care, family-contact, rehabilitation/re-offending, in-cell technology and other services provided to prisoners

Criminal justice social work (CJSW) provides a range of statutory services to individuals in
the community and prison at different stages of the criminal justice system. These include:

• Bail supervision;
• Alternatives to prosecution measures such as Fiscal Work Orders and Diversion
  from Prosecution;
• Criminal justice social work reports;
• Risk and need assessments using accredited tools, e.g. the Level of Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI), Stable & Acute 2007 (SA07), Spousal Assault Risk Assessment (SARA;
• Community Payback Orders (CPO);
• Delivery of accredited programmes, e.g. Moving Forward: Making Changes and the
  Caledonian System;
• Throughcare services to statutory prisoners (i.e. long-term prisoners serving more than 4 years or short-term sex offenders released on licence), including community and prison-based assessments and reports for parole;
• Supervision of individuals released from custody on licence, e.g. parole, extended sentence, supervised release order, Order of Lifelong Restriction); and
• Voluntary Throughcare to short-term prisoners and the Throughcare Addictions
  Service.

CJSW therefore plays a central role in the justice system, and in particular the rehabilitation and management of individuals subject to community-based supervision. As the responsible agency for managing the risk of serious harm and the needs of people subject to statutory supervision, the ‘risk’ sits squarely with CJSW.

Funding is provided to local authorities in a ring-fenced grant provided under sections 27A
and 27B of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 as amended (referred to hereafter as the
S27 grant). There are currently a number of acute pressures on local authority CJSW. Scottish
Government Justice Analytical Services estimate a 7.5% increase in CPOs as a result of the extension of the Presumption Against Short Term Sentences (PASS). As Community Justice Scotland (CJS) point out:

“Of the forecasts provided by Justice Analytical Services, even a ‘LOW’ uptake would result in approximately 1,300 additional people across Scotland receiving community sentences. If the policy has greater impact, then numbers could further increase. It is likely some of this number will require additional support to complete their sentence successfully. Local Authority areas and service providers need to be able to meet this demand for support.”

The report goes on to argue that research undertaken by Progressive Partnerships, an independent research organisation, suggests that “a proportion of these people (i.e. those currently receiving a prison sentence of up to 12 months that might now get a CPO) may have more complex needs that will require more support than the current ‘average’ person completing a CPO”.

It is true the total number of CPOs in Scotland has declined since their introduction in 2011 from a peak of 19, 451 in 2015-16 to 17,834 in 2017-18.3 However, notwithstanding the impact of PASS described above, there have been several practice developments in the last 10 – 15 years that have had a significant impact on CJSW workloads and the ability of services to work effectively with individuals and are not fully funded. These include, but not limited to:

• Structured and accredited risk assessment tools – a range of tools have been introduced, all of which require substantive training and time to complete. To reference only three:
  • (1) the introduction of the Level of Service & Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI) at the turn of the decade, an assessment and case management tool completed on all individuals which underpins all CJSW statutory work with individuals at both the criminal justice social work report stage and postsentence (it requires a 5 – 6 training course);
  • (2) Stable & Acute 2007 and Risk 1 Sentenced to Smart Justice: A report on proposed extension of the Presumption Against Short Sentences, May 2019. Scottish Government, Criminal Justice Social Work Statistics in Scotland, 4/2/19 Matrix 2000 for sex offenders (requires 3 day training); and
  • (3) the Spousal Assault Risk Assessment (SARA v3) for domestic abuse, again resource intensive.
• ViSOR – this electronic Home Office sex and violent offender register requires social
  workers to regularly input information.
• MAPPA – the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements require significant commitment from CJSW, from joint visits and assessment with Police Scotland, attendance at meetings to comprehensive risk management plans.
• Order of Lifelong Restriction (OLR) – introduced to manage the risk of individuals posing the very highest risk of serious harm, local authorities are responsible for managing individuals in the community subject to an OLR and are required to commit significant resources to manage these individuals and submit ongoing detailed risk management plans to the Risk Management Authority for approval. Whilst the numbers in the community are currently small, this will only increase in coming years.
• Moving Forward: Making Changes (MF:MF) – this (no longer) accredited sex offender programme (currently being reviewed and revised) requires significant resource both from teams delivering the group work programme, but also, and crucially, CJSW social worker case managers.
• Caledonian System – whilst funding is provided separately by Scottish Government, this accredited domestic abuse programme, available only to approximately two-thirds of local authority CJSW due to lack of central funding, places significant demands on CJSW social worker case managers (for example, they are responsible for delivering the lengthy pre-group programme work that is not covered by the Caledonian funding).
• Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARAC) – protecting victims of domestic abuse, MARAC requires significant input from CJSW, including chairing and attending meetings, providing background information and contributing to action plans.
• Multi-Agency Task & Coordination (MATAC) – focussing on perpetrators of domestic abuse, this is a further additional commitment for CJSW.

Additionally, other developments in the justice environment continue to increase workload and pressure on a strained and over-stretched CJSW system. Many of these developments are, in themselves, welcome. But most are driven forward in isolation, with too little consideration given to the compound effect they collectively impose on CJSW. For example, Social Work Scotland members report a very significant rise in the requirement for CJSW to attend Parole Tribunals and Hearings in prisons. As this mostly requires attendance in person this development absorbs worker’s time. Relatedly, the lack of availability in the Scottish Prison Service of reliable connectivity limits CJSW ability to use videoconferencing with prisoners, for both Integrated Case Management (the process by which SPS manage statutory prisoners) and the development of CJSW report. Other examples of developments putting pressure on CJSW is the push to increase bail supervision numbers, and to offer Diversion to greater numbers.

Despite the seismic change in the demands and requirements placed on CJSW since the early 2000s, there has not been a comprehensive review to quantify and accurately cost the component parts of the work CJSW does. The S27 funding formula has been reviewed, but this was limited to how the grant is distributed. (In simple terms, the workload element was reduced from two-thirds to half, a rurality element was introduced and social and economic indicators are applied.) We believe the funding formula now requires comprehensive review.

Under the current formula, CJSW are actually penalised for reducing re-offending, as retrospective three year activity levels are the basis for allocation. Moreover, there is a clear case to consider more than one year grant allocations, as the current approach limits effective planning, being confirmed only in December of the preceding year (limiting our ability to respond constructively to reduced allocations). Previously, under the previous funding formula, whilst not entirely satisfactory, there was a mechanism to ‘soften’ any significant reductions in allocation from one year to the next.

We believe there is also a clear case for removing the separation of Part 1 and Part 2 funding, and instead providing local authorities with one S27 grant allocation. This would enable greater flexibility to allocate resources in accordance with local strategic plans and priorities.

In 2014 the Scottish government initiated research into the unit cost of a Community Payback Order (CPO). We are not aware that the final report was published, perhaps reflecting the complexity of establishing a ‘unit cost’ of a CPO, given the diversity and geography of Scotland and/or the difficulty of assimilating all the relevant expenditure/resources involved in delivering CPOs. In the absence of that research, in 2015-16 the cost of a CPO was estimated at £1,771. This figure was calculated by dividing
total recorded expenditure on Community Payback Orders across the 8 Community Justice Authority’s by the volume of those disposals. Importantly, the expenditure figure did not include the costs of delivering some services which may be accessed by offenders as a consequence of requirements imposed with these orders. Working off this basis, over the past four years the cost of managing an individual CPO has increased to approximately £2,000+. But as noted above, we would strongly suggest that this is a significant underestimate of the average cost of a CPO.

Indeed looking at the system as a whole, the actual cost of delivering CJSW services in line with National Outcomes and Standards for social work services in the criminal justice system and associated Scottish Government practice guidance, including the alternatives to prosecution schemes (Diversion, Fiscal Work Orders) and statutory community supervision (e.g. Throughcare services both during a prison sentence and post release) has not been accurately costed this century. Despite the fact that since 2000 the demands on CJSW have increased exponentially, driven by successive waves of criminal justice policy innovation and reform. Such an analysis, to identify the current actual cost of CJSW, could be done by conducting a time and motion study to assess the cost of producing a CJSW report, completing LS/CMI (including the extensive risk of serious harm component), managing an individual on a prison licence, etc.

This is not a call for a return to a justice system (and associated policies and practice) of the 1990’s. Social Work Scotland, along with many other informed stakeholders, strongly support many of the developments of recent years, encouraged that policies are driven by evidence and a commitment to human rights. But we cannot build or maintain a system on the strength of ideas alone. The system must be built methodically, on robust, appropriately resourced foundations; of which CJSW is one. This argument was made repeatedly in the written submissions and oral evidence (including from Victim Support Scotland and the Sheriff’s Association) heard by the Justice Committee this year, in considering the proposed extension to PASS. These made explicit reference to the need for more resources for
CJSW, without which it is difficult to see how the extension of PASS will succeed. Social Work Scotland supports the principle of community justice partners leveraging and sharing resources (in its broadest sense, including money, accommodation, data etc.) but this assumes there is significant spare capacity across the criminal justice system. There is not.

In considering the resource requirements of the criminal justice system, another factor which must be taken into account is the recent national public sector pay award. This has not been funded by Scottish Government, and in the six months since coming into effect Social Work Scotland members are reporting a serious impact on budgets. A survey of local authorities showed that, of the 23 that responded, 21 are required to fund the pay award from the S27 grant. One local authority calculates that they will have to find almost £1 million to cover the pay award between 2018 and 2021; that money will have to come from CJSW budgets. In another local authority, their small uplift in Part 1 funding in 2019-20 of £50,000 is less than the cost of the pay award. This situation creates serious challenges in filling posts when they become vacant, and creates pressure to re-design or re-organise services to meet the budget short fall. However, the time required to do this properly, with the requirement to consult and work with staff and unions, inevitably means that savings are not going to be achieved until future financial years. And in that time there will no doubt be further changes and funding reductions.

It is understood the S27 grant is made up of the ‘criminal justice social work’ allocation in the Scottish Government budget, topped up from money in the community justice ‘offender services’ budget. The former budget has remained static for several years at £86.5 million.

In 2017-18 the total allocation to CJSW including money from ‘offender services’ was £98,819,949; since then there have been marginal increases to £100,080,038 in 2018-19 and £100,115,038 in 2019-20. As set out in the paragraphs above, we believe that this has led to significant, systemic underfunding of CJSW. This is impacting on the ability of CJSW to deliver on the three key outcomes set out in NOS – reducing reoffending; promoting social inclusion; and public protection and community safety. And this will, in turn, impact on the system’s collective ability to deliver key Scottish government policy initiatives, such as PASS, community justice and bail supervision. CJSW is centre stage in efforts to
modernise Scotland’s justice system, and under the spotlight in managing the risk of individuals subject to statutory supervision, or coordinating interventions and services to rehabilitate and transform lives.

The resource requirements of such a key player must be properly understood and fully met. Longer-term challenges and financial requirements to tackle issues such as staffing levels in prisons, over-crowding, drug use, safety and security of staff and prisoners, the use of the open estate and an ageing prison population.

A number of developments are currently underway which will present financial challenges. Perhaps most significant is the work instigated by the Health and Justice collaboration Board to integrate health and social care in prisons. This is a programme Social Work Scotland is proud to be involved in, and tests of change are currently underway in six prisons. The integrated health and social care in prisons programme gives us a valuable opportunity to explore how health, well-being and social need affect the risk of offending in the future, and to work across statutory and voluntary throughcare systems to deliver a more holistic, individualised and integrated response to individuals, reducing the risk of
reoffending. Following an evaluation report in autumn 2020, the responsibility for integrated
health and social care services in prisons is likely to fall to local health and social care partnerships. Only 13 partnerships have prisons in their areas, but these partnerships will in due course face a significant pocket of need for services.

Elsewhere in the justice landscape, there are some potential efficiencies to be made in developing integrated, multi-disciplinary services and by reviewing and aligning third sector services in prison. To date these have grown organically, rather than through any strategic needs assessment and commissioning plan. It is likely, therefore, that they will not cover all current (and the expected increase) in needs which we will see in our prisons. In the context of integrated health and social care provision in our prisons (as described in paragraph above) we will need to review which and how services have been delivered in prison, and consider provision within the wider commissioning and procurement framework.

There remains a lack of data around the health and social care needs of people in prison, which some tests of change and a Government commissioned strategic needs assessment will seek to rectify in the next few months. Like the Scottish population as a whole, the prison population is ageing, meaning there will continue to be a greater number of people who are frail, and require additional support. But the prison population also has significant levels of need in terms of mental health, addiction, learning disability and neuro-diversity.

These needs impact on people’s capacity to make use of any opportunities for learning and development in prisons and then to successfully reintegrate into their communities on release. The prison estate does not currently have the capacity to meet the needs of a growing population of people with complex age and/or health related conditions. Without investment in the estate, this means care will likely be delivered in inappropriate settings, potentially without the equipment that would be deemed necessary in community settings. This not only places people in receipt of services at risk, but workers too. The Justice Committee may want to consider the elements both of the prison estate and the delivery of a whole systems approach to health and social care in a justice setting in its future planning.

Views on how to achieve a rebalancing over the longer-term in expenditure on prisons and that of community-based alternatives to incarceration and preventative spend, including the challenges of provision in remote or rural areas.

If we are to achieve this re-balancing, and potentially unlock resources to re-distribute to community-based alternatives, Scotland needs first to agree and articulate what the role of prison is. If our national aim, as articulated by Professor Cyrus Tata and others, is that imprisonment should be used sparingly, only where warranted on the grounds that the risk of serious harm is so great as to require confinement, and never on the basis of ‘rehabilitation’ or ‘self-improvement’, we should say so clearly, and work out the policies to achieve it. Over time we would see a reduction in the prison population, freeing up
resources to be transferred elsewhere.

With such an agreement about the role of prison in place, the change itself would require robust strategy, energy, collaboration, and, perhaps most importantly, bold leadership and financial investment. The newly established Community Justice Leadership Group, co-chaired by the Cabinet Secretary and COSLA’s Community and Wellbeing Spokesperson, offers an opportunity to explore whether this is possible. The group could set a clear vision for what the justice system in Scotland to look like in 20 – 30 years’ time, and agree the outlines of how we get there. (An example of this scale of ambition is the Housing to 2040 vision.) The group could crystallise what a compassionate justice system looks like, how it balances responsibilities, and identify the milestones on the journey to achieve it. Critically, the group could set coherent ‘stretch aims’ for the system, such as limits on the number of
people in prison by a certain time. Without such clear stretch aims it is too difficult for a disparate system to coalesce around a shared vision, or agree on the scale of change needed.

However, to do this right requires both time and investment. A system built up over decades, which itself reflects public attitudes and culture with roots which go even further, cannot be transformed through policy documents and rhetoric. Vested interests will need to be challenged, all parts of the system be open to radical change, and resources made available to facilitate the transition. Simply put, the current system will need to continue to be maintained (and improved) while the new one is built. That cannot be done (or at least cannot be done quickly) with no increase in overall spending. For example, to win public (and some professional) support for a compassionate justice system, significant investment will be needed in deploying and evaluating the effectiveness of community-based interventions. We know such interventions work, but to fundamentally rebalance the system Scottish Government and its partners will need to go further than securing the support of experts.

The alternative is that public sector money will continue to be invested in an increasingly complicated version of the current system, with policy innovations woven into a prison-centric infrastructure. That will fail to unlock the potential of those policy innovations, and make it less likely that we develop across Scotland the integrated services needed to prevent offending and re-offending in our communities. It will also mean we fail to unlock the significant resources allocated to a growing and aging prison population.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact:
James Maybee
Chair of Social Work Scotland’s Justice Standing Committee & Head of Criminal Justice
Social Work, Highland Council

Consultation response: Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act

Consultation response: Presumption against Short Sentences