Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of specialist (a) training and (b) accreditation on (i) alcohol and (ii) other drugs for social workers.

The regulator for the social work profession, Social Work England, sets professional standards. These are standards all social workers must meet. The professional standards include that social workers must be able to address social care needs arising from substance misuse. Social workers complete initial education and training and then they are supported by an Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE). For child and family social workers the ASYE is due to be replaced by an Early Career Framework. Post-qualification training of social workers is the responsibility of employers such as local authorities and the NHS.