The government is consulting on proposals to allow councils in England to outsource almost all their children’s social work.
This could see private contractors taking over services such as child protection. Social workers would transfer to the contractors and have to go through competitive tendering every few years.
“This is a dangerous ideological attack on a sensitive service, which we have to do our utmost to stop,” says UNISON head of local government Heather Wakefield.
“Please say no to the consultation proposals.”
The consulation closes on 30 May and UNISON will submit a collective response from the union, but is also calling on as many individuals as possible to make their views known as well.
“Social workers will be rightly concerned that their jobs could be transferred to contractors like Serco or G4S,” says Ms Wakefield.
“We need as many social work staff as possible to respond to the consultation to let the government know that these proposals have no support from practitioners and will be strongly resisted.”
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