College of Social Work
Debate between Countess of Mar and Baroness Garden of Frognal
Baroness Garden of Frognal
My noble friend is quite right that the college has a responsibility for the professional capabilities framework, and that that has professional standards for generic social work which cover child, family and adult social work, and of course mental health is a key part of that.
The Countess of Mar (CB)
My Lords, is the noble Baroness aware that local authority social services departments peripheral to London are having acute difficulties recruiting and retaining staff because they do not get London weighting, but house prices are as high as they very often are in London? Is there anything that can be done about this?
Baroness Garden of Frognal
The noble Countess raises a point which ranges far wider than social workers. House prices, particularly in the south-east, are going to be a problem for many people in the public sector. Of course, that then strays into areas of housing, which is rather wider than the remit of this Question. However, I assure her that it is important that we have adequate housing for people who work in these vital services, such as social work.
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Debate between Countess of Mar and Baroness Garden of Frognal
Baroness Garden of Frognal
How close is close? It will depend. If your house is right next to a mast, you might be very severely affected. Obviously, it will become less of a problem the further away from the mast the property is.
The Countess of Mar
The noble Baroness has said that no extra costs would fall on the Government—that is, the taxpayer. She has not spoken about the extra cost to the consumer, which is what the House is concerned about. How much of the costs will fall on the consumers?
Baroness Garden of Frognal
I am not sure that there will be significant costs to the consumers for this. It will obviously be an additional service when it is rolled out. The filters for the adaptation will be free, and in most cases the installation will be free, so the actual cost to consumers should not be significant when the rollout is completed.