§ Mr. Crouchasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will take steps to ensure that social workers are adequately trained in the skills of caring for disabled people; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir George YoungStatutory and voluntary employers of social workers are responsible for ensuring that their staffs have adequate training or experience for their duties. The Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work which has statutory responsibility for promoting social work training tries to ensure that the special needs of various client groups, including the disabled, are adequately covered within the range of courses it approves.
Courses leading to the basic social work qualifications are concerned largely with general skills and should equip social workers to work with a range of client groups. The council also promotes courses of further study for qualified social workers, some of which are specifically aimed at enlarging students' knowledge of practice with particular client groups, including the disabled.