§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) social workers and (b) health visitors were assaulted in 2002 in their duties in child protection. [89344]
§ Jacqui SmithThe Department does not collect statistics on violence against social workers centrally. However, it did commission a national task force on violence against social workers that reported early in 2001. The task force made a number of recommendations that were accepted by Government and social care employer organisations.
The early targets recommended by the task force were for employers to: undertake an audit of their organisation's ability to deal with violence and abuse, do a training needs analysis for their workforce, prepare an action plan and begin to effect planned developments. The longer term target was for local authority employers to reduce incidents of violence and abuse by 25 per cent. by 2005 and the Department is working with employers to set up the means to measure their progress. The Department maintains and updates a website that was set up under the ausPlces of the task force on violence against social care. It is at www.doh.gov.uk/violenttaskforce. The Department does not collect information on reported number of violent or abusive incidents by groups of staff or by services such as child protection within the national health service. However, in June 2002 the following survey was published: "2000/2001 Reported Violent or Abusive Incidents, Accidents Involving Staff and Sickness Absence in NHS Trusts and Health Authorities in England". This survey states that there were a total of 84,273 reported violent or abusive incidents across all the staff in NHS trusts and health authorities in England in 2000–1. A copy of this report is available in the Library.