Social worker groups slam MOJ cuts to court fees for experts

Groups representing guardians and social workers this week warned that proposed cuts in family court funding of experts could undermine safeguards for vulnerable children and force experienced social workers to leave this field of work.

In a joint statement, the British Association of Social Workers, Nagalro (the professional organisation for children’s guardians and independent socials workers) and independent social work agencies ISWA and Willis Palmer said the cuts being introduced by the Ministry of Justice would “impact disproportionately” on children at the centre of family court proceedings.

The groups said: “From October 2010, fees to social work experts giving independent advice to family courts in the most difficult cases are to be slashed, putting vulnerable children at significantly greater risk.

“The Ministry of Justice consultation on expert fees in family courts failed to include independent social work expert witness evidence in its remit and the changes, which are being introduced in the absence of either adequate consultation or an accurate database, will force many experienced social workers to leave this field of work.”

The groups said independent social worker experts’ evidence and work has in many cases enabled the child to remain with their families. In other cases, their involvement has been “pivotal” to ensuring they were removed from their homes.

The statement also claimed that independent social workers are already the lowest paid of the court’s expert witnesses. “Yet it is often the independent social worker’s report that draws together and puts into context the conclusions of more highly paid experts such as psychologists and psychiatrists,” it warned.

The groups added: “If the pool of available independent social workers is depleted, this will exacerbate already unacceptably long delays and necessitate the use of other more expensive experts in their place.”

The Family Justice Council, the senior multi-disciplinary body concerned with family justice, earlier this year warned of the risk of a greater number of unfair or ill-informed decisions being made if the fees paid to social worker experts are cut drastically.

Hilton Dawson, chief executive at BASW, said: “Social workers play a critical role in informing vital decisions about children’s lives. At a time when the government at last seems to be recognising the importance of our profession this is a regrettable decision, which undermines a huge amount of good work and goodwill. Even more importantly it undermines the safety and the rights of children.”