§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether his Department recommends a case load level for social workers employed by the local authorities; what is the average actual case load level at present; and what are the relevant figures for the preceeding five years.
§ Mr. John PattenThe Department does not issue guidelines on case loads for social workers employed by local authorities; nor are case load statistics held centrally.
§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of employed field social workers is qualified.
§ Mr. John PattenThe Barclay report — "Social Workers: their role and tasks", National Institute for Social Work 1982—recently estimated that over 70 per cent of social workers engaged in front-line field social work are qualified.