Supporting Social Work
The final item of business today is a members' business debate on motion S3M-3893, in the name of Christina McKelvie, on supporting social work. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament supports the awareness raising campaign, Social Work Changes Lives, which was launched by the Association of Directors of Social Work, the Scottish Social Services Council and the Association of Social Care Communicators on 1 April 2009; recognises the burdens that social workers carry; agrees that it is important to promote a positive image of social work acknowledging the huge variety of tasks that social work and social care staff undertake to support vulnerable people in central Scotland region and right across the country; believes that most people will come into contact with social work services at some point in their lives, whether they are receiving a service or are involved in arranging a service for others, and therefore believes that it is vitally important that social work services are well understood and valued by society.
I thank everyone who signed the motion, thereby allowing this debate to happen.
I have to declare an interest, of sorts, as I was recently privileged enough to be named as a social work champion, and my employment before I was elected was in training and assessing social care workers.
Yesterday saw the publication of a report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education on child protection services in Dundee. It did not make pleasant reading. It is quite clear that the services in Dundee are in need of major improvement. I was pleased to note that Fiona Hyslop and Adam Ingram had already set the ball rolling on that, having met people from the child protection services in Dundee last week. We should note that four additional social workers have been employed by Dundee City Council since the report was written, in February and March, which is good news for those who rely on those services. I am confident that there will be improvements in the system in Dundee, with the ministers' intervention and the commitment of the professionals in the city.
We heard today that the follow-through report for Aberdeen is positive. It is not a glowing report, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. I am sure that we will be hearing more from Dundee in the near future.
As well as indicating the problems, the Dundee report demonstrates the massive pressure under which social workers are operating. No one wants to fail children or the vulnerable in our society, and no one wants to turn a blind eye. No social worker wants to leave a child in a situation until it approaches crisis point, and no social carer wants to have to act in an emergency rather than earlier.
No system is perfect, and no group of workers is perfect. There are problems and challenges in every walk of life. Social workers and social carers are people whose employment sends them into some of the most challenging situations in domestic life. They are people who see and seek to mend some of the damaged lives in our society. They are people who seek to improve other people's lives. I do not claim beatification for them or set them apart from the rest of society—they are people with flaws, vices and virtues and, in my experience, compassion. However, their jobs are difficult and stressful, and they should not be asked to carry the additional burdens of accusation and finger pointing.
There is no benefit from or upside to an accusatory national inquiry. Social work services, particularly child protection services, are regulated and inspected under a strong and robust system. That is why recent reports have recommended improvements in the services of three councils, although not because the councils were failing to meet their duty of care or because social workers were found wanting; improvements were recommended because the inspections found room for them.
The social workers, social carers and other staff who are involved in delivering social work services will rise to the challenge of making those changes and they will improve their services. They are the professionals who are there when society needs a safety net for some of the most vulnerable. They are the workers who are there when no one else is. There will be times when they make mistakes—as we all do—and times when the judgment call is wrong. However, we should never forget that, when evil acts are perpetrated, the blame lies with the evil men and women who perpetrate them, not with those who try to prevent them. We have a responsibility to protect the weakest. Laws alone will not do that, and nor will national inquiries. What does not and cannot help, and what takes away rather than adds, is the blame culture in which a scapegoat is sought rather than a problem solved. We should not add that burden to our social work professionals.
Social capital is the glue of society and is enhanced by the proper treatment of the most vulnerable members of society. We can judge the health of a society by the manner in which it protects its weakest. Our social workers and social carers are our improvement corps. Our social work services are the mechanism by which the firmness of the foundation of our society is maintained. It is our duty and responsibility as politicians and as the current custodians of our society to protect and nurture that foundation and to pass it on, improved and enhanced. The best way forward is to give praise where praise is due and constructive criticism where it will help. Step by step, we can help to improve our country and, day by day, we can make it stronger.
We need to applaud and congratulate those who stand guard over our vulnerable. We need to reward their efforts with our thanks. Social workers and social carers improve lives throughout the country and they enhance our communities and empower people to improve their own lives. They are not magicians, they do not work miracles and they are not angels or saints. By and large, they are dedicated, compassionate and hard-working individuals who make improvements bit by bit and day by day. Because much of what we value in society depends on the egalitarian treatment of our vulnerable, we must value our social workers. Because many of us will need help for ourselves or our families at some point in our lives, we need to value our social workers. Because society demands so much from those professionals, we should let them know that we value their contribution.
I am proud to be a social work champion and to praise the work that is done and the service that is provided. I am proud to support the social work changes lives campaign, and I am proud to salute our social workers and social carers.
I congratulate Christina McKelvie on securing the debate. There is no doubt that social workers and social work staff perform a vital job in our society. Social work services, from the provision of care in the community to criminal justice and child protection services, aim to protect the most vulnerable and marginalised in our society and to enhance the lives of those who require support and assistance.
Social work provides a broad range of services in our society. Although, as recent events have proved, child protection services often make the news, social workers and social work staff deliver services that enable many people to live in the community rather than in residential institutions. Whether social work staff provide support to those with mental health problems or to those with physical or learning difficulties, they work hard to enable people to live as normal a life as possible in our communities.
We must recognise that the provision of all social services requires strong interagency work. We have to ensure—and the public have to recognise—that social workers, education departments, the police, the national health service and voluntary agencies all work together, because they all have a role in providing social care.
It is important that professionals in social work services take a proactive stance in promoting the vast array of positive examples of good practice. Such examples might not always get into the national news headlines, but local news coverage and council and NHS publications are always good ways of reminding people that the vast majority of social work staff provide a service of the highest quality, of which we can be proud. Many people will be able to relate to that easily, whether through personal experience or as a result of social work involvement with a friend or family member.
It is important that we celebrate success. Recently, I met Scott Hunter, the house manager of Leslie Street children's house in Motherwell, who was the residential care worker of the year, because of his dedication in working with looked-after children and young people. He started as a sessional worker and, through the support of North Lanarkshire Council, he has moved on to become an outstanding manager of a children's home. His efforts and the efforts of the staff whom he works alongside help to ensure that some of our most vulnerable children and young people in North Lanarkshire receive much-needed support during what must be the very traumatic experience of being taken into care. I welcome the initiative of the Association of Directors of Social Work to highlight such examples of good practice and to show the vast range of services that are offered by social work staff.
However, that is not to say that there can ever be an abdication of responsibility when problems arise. Where there are serious challenges, we all have a duty to face up to them. We in the Parliament have a responsibility to deliver social care legislation that is fit for purpose and, sometimes, to provide direction to our local authorities. The Scottish Government has a responsibility to provide proper funding, to monitor the impact of legislation and policy, and to take action when they are failing. That is why Iain Gray called on the Government yesterday to establish a national inquiry into child protection in Scotland, not because all local authorities are failing, but because there is much that we can do to improve and enhance the good practice in many of our local authorities and to learn from the local authorities that have faced challenges in recent times. We must do something about that. Senior social work management have a responsibility to implement effectively legislation and policy that the Government brings forward. Failures at any of those levels must remain open to examination. There must be accountability.
I am pleased to congratulate Christina McKelvie on lodging the motion and to support the message that social work staff throughout Scotland do indeed do a good job.
I congratulate Christina McKelvie on securing the debate.
The social work changes lives campaign is to be praised for its important work in helping to create a more positive public perception of the valuable work that social workers and social care staff carry out. Social workers throughout Scotland provide much-needed care to the more vulnerable members of our society. They are the people working day in, day out with the elderly, dysfunctional families, substance misusers, vulnerable children and others who are in need of professional support. Statistics show that one in eight people have used social work services, which proves that social work affects many more lives than is often assumed. Nevertheless, the public image and perception of social workers often fails to reflect the importance of their role. I am therefore pleased that more is being done to address that important issue.
Media coverage of tragedies in recent years, such as the cases of Baby P or, in my area of the Borders, Miss X, has created an atmosphere of terror among many social workers. It has instilled a fear that they might be wrongly blamed when something bad happens. Media speculation and inaccuracies—even storylines in television programmes—generate myths about the profession. The increasing blame that is placed at the door of social workers reduces morale and the number of people who apply for jobs in this very necessary field. We heard today that 7 per cent of social work posts in Scotland are vacant.
Of course, when a tragedy occurs, it is only right to hold an inquiry into what went wrong, so that we can learn from the mistakes and make the appropriate changes. However, social workers do not stand and operate alone; they co-operate daily with the police, health services and local authorities, so responsibility for cases that go wrong must be shared.
Occasionally, we hear a hero story about the police, doctors, nurses or teachers, amid negative coverage. Social workers seem to feature in the news only when things go wrong. Incidents are reported with such ferocity that the whole profession is tarred. However, for every one bad news story, social workers ensure that thousands of children are helped, thousands of families are supported and thousands of lives are improved. The social work changes lives campaign highlights the unsung heroes in our society who work constantly and quietly for our benefit, to make Scotland safer, healthier and better. The campaign challenges a deep-rooted attitude that will take some time to shift.
The social welfare system in Scotland is among the best in the world. The Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 and the decision in 2002 to give free personal care to older people are examples of that. However, it is time that we recognised the social work profession and changed the negative attitudes that surround it. I congratulate Christina McKelvie again on securing this important debate. I look forward to hearing other members' views on this important issue.
I echo the congratulations to Christina McKelvie on bringing this timely and important discussion to the chamber.
I am looking at a document entitled "A Career In Social Services [A Job Like No Other]", but that description is not quite true. We do a job that is remarkably like social work. By and large, we do not receive much praise and we are jumped on when something goes wrong. The document lists the attributes of social workers. I will leave out a couple, but some of them are to
"be committed to working with people and helping them to solve their problems … be able to make difficult decisions … be non-judgemental and not tolerate prejudices in others … have excellent listening skills … be supportive and considerate … have good negotiating skills … be able to work well with colleagues and other professionals … be able to prioritise their workload … be able to build relationships … be able to act quickly and calmly in difficult situations"
and
"be able to work under pressure and to timescales".
That list simply reminds us what a constantly difficult job social workers are asked to do.
I agree with Karen Whitefield that the recorded information tells us that the vast majority of social work is done well by dedicated people. We must be careful to correct perceptions about that. We talk in the chamber about the problem of young people being stereotyped by the press and about their being given a bad press. MSPs and social workers face exactly the same problem and we must do something to counter it.
It is easy to criticise somebody who has made a judgment and got it wrong. We make judgments every day of the week, but social workers make them every hour of the week. Nothing is risk free. Any judgment involves the risk of being wrong. People are wrong every now and again. I wish that the press understood and recognised that sometimes. As normal human beings, most of us understand that we get it wrong.
Do we need a national inquiry? I confess that I doubt it. In recent years, Government inspections of education departments, health services, social work departments and other organisations have monitored the situation. The statistics tend to confirm that much is done well. Inspections quickly point out local authorities and care homes that are not up to standard. Ministers have robust responses to that, which help to sort issues out quickly. I am not at all convinced that we must have a national reassessment of that.
I have observed that problems with local authority social work departments seem to coincide with indecisive political leadership. Although it is undoubtedly right to criticise the professionals, it is also worth bearing in mind that problems are likely to arise if councillors and Administrations do not lead, guide or monitor them.
The job that we ask our social work folk to do is difficult. They are always being asked to balance resources—which, of course, are always limited—and make judgments on interventions, not all of which they will get right. Clearly, we need to have experienced professionals and to encourage folk into the profession. I am pleased that the profession has taken the opportunity to represent itself in a positive way. I endorse that.
I, too, congratulate Christina McKelvie on bringing the motion to the Parliament.
As John Lamont rightly said, one of the most important pieces of social work legislation was the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, the thrust of which was to promote social welfare. Until that time, local authority departments, voluntary organisations and other agencies worked largely on their own and there was little or no communication between them. Overnight, welfare departments, as they were then called, the probation service and children's departments were combined and links were made with housing departments.
A second important piece of legislation was passed by the Scottish Parliament. I refer to the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002, under which free personal care was introduced. The provision was aimed at encouraging older people to remain in their homes. The success of the legislation is enshrined in community planning. We now have the campaign: social work changes lives.
As other members have said, social work remains a much-maligned service. Morale is low and media coverage is rarely good—indeed, stories are usually negative—and yet those who criticise would not do the job. Nigel Don compared social workers to politicians. Those of us who have been social workers and politicians can be said to have a personality disorder—it is really quite bizarre that anyone should want to do both jobs.
We must address the lack of trust and confidence in social work, which is deep-rooted, and take time to fix it. The social work changes lives campaign hopes to identify human interest stories and communicate them in a compelling way to reflect the diversity of social work. We also need to highlight social work champions, of whom Christina McKelvie is one, and identify ex-users of the service who have good stories to share. After all, it is always helpful to have good public relations. Celebrating social work success is a good idea.
Often, those who criticise social work do not use the service; they apportion blame with little or no evidence to support what they say and have little understanding of the issues. It is interesting that non-users cite child protection as the aspect of social work about which they are most aware, whereas users cite services for older people. In my experience, referrals rarely come singly; it is usual for a child or an older person referral to involve the whole family.
Social work is not a stand-alone service—it has to involve other agencies—but it usually gets the blame when things fail. Social work is fundamental to the delivery of the social justice and anti-poverty strategies of this Parliament. Social workers not only work with children, women, older people and those who are mentally ill in our communities, but fight for their rights. Because they work with and support those in the community who suffer injustice, social workers alert us to those injustices, but we hear little of that part of the work.
As Nigel Don said, elected members and senior council officials must ensure that they are kept up to date with problems in social work services. All sectors must talk and listen to each other. Voluntary organisations, the police and the national health service must share information where appropriate. All have responsibility for protecting vulnerable children. It is not acceptable for someone to say, "No one told me."
Those who do not have social work experience cannot imagine what it is like to come into work on a Monday morning and be referred a family, the adult members of which have been using drugs and alcohol and fighting over the weekend. You are told that the mother is in hospital because she was battered and that the children have not turned up at school. What do you do? Where do you start? What will you find when you knock on the door, making a cold call on the family? You do not know what lies behind the door.
Things have got better since I practised as a social worker—after all, it was a while ago. These days, there is more co-operative working. No longer would a decision be taken that twins who were going into foster care would be put one to the Western Isles and one to the Borders. That happened in my time, no matter how hard I argued or put forward my case. Neither twin knew about the existence of the other. I also recollect a wee boy I had to take into care from a housing estate in Glasgow and place in a foster care in Largs. When he got out of the car in Largs, he said, "Is this still Scotland?" He had never seen the seaside before.
We would all do well to read Edwin Morgan's poem "Brothers and Keepers", which contains the lines:
"There will never be a paradise with people like angels
Walking and singing through forests of music,
But let us have the decency of a society
That helps those who cannot help themselves.
It can be done; it must be done; so do it."
It is difficult to say anything original in the debate, as I am late in the batting order. I congratulate Christina McKelvie on securing it and declare an interest: I was a social carer with a voluntary sector organisation for a number of years.
I guess that the historical roots of social work are in the abdication of individual responsibility to professionalism. We have been very successful, as the 1968 act consolidated things, but we have always faced a challenge. Social workers and, to a lesser extent, social carers are damned if they do and damned if they do not. If they take a child into care, they will be wrong for breaking up the family. If they keep a family together, the consequences of doing so will be asked about. It is almost impossible to get things right and satisfy our demands, which put them in the positions that they are in. We must be much more willing to understand the range of activities that they are engaged in.
Much of the focus of the debate has been on child protection issues, but I would like to move a little bit away from them and think about the thousands of people with learning disabilities who have in the past 15 to 20 years ceased to be locked in institutions and become members of wider society. That has largely been the result of the efforts of social workers and social carers. Those people come together with other professionals and, if they are doing things right, service users to provide an environment in which opportunities are opened up for people with learning disabilities who have known only places such as Lennox Castle hospital, Woodilee hospital and Kirklands hospital—we can go through the list. Sadly, having given social workers and social carers that delegated responsibility, we are too quick to point a finger at them when things go wrong.
The social work changes lives campaign is merited. I received a phone call from a young person who was carrying out research relating to it—I do not know whether that was a coincidence. They were quite surprised. They said, "You know an awful lot about this, and it's not all the stuff you see in the newspapers." We need to put the success stories at the forefront more.
Nigel Don drew an interesting parallel between our careers in the Parliament and those of social workers and social carers. Given the reputation that many politicians currently have, I hope that we and social work practitioners are successful in restoring our reputations and that the campaign will be successful in maintaining and enhancing the reputations of social workers and social carers.
I congratulate Christina McKelvie on securing the debate. She is indeed a champion of the good work that social workers undertake throughout Scotland.
Historically, the social work profession has not explained itself well or articulated the daily balancing act that must take place in dealing with competing rights and demands. Working with people and families is complex; it requires fine judgments that are based on the most robust information available at the time. The good work is often overshadowed by the headlines when things go wrong. Work with people is never risk free. Nonetheless, as a profession, we are not flawless and must be accountable for the decisions that we make. The quid pro quo is that politicians must be accountable for resourcing, policy and legislation.
I was proud to be a social worker. Like Trish Godman, I am a former mental health officer and have speculated with her—privately, of course—about who in the Parliament may be liable to detention. There were times in my career when I advocated vigorously for the rights of prisoners or detained patients to receive appropriate, humane care and treatment. However, there were equally times when I pursued a course of action that infringed on the liberty, privacy and rights of my clients. That, of course, was unpopular with clients and, at times, with other professionals, whether in the Scottish Prison Service or the health service, but social workers—like politicians—have to make unpopular and hard decisions. I was always fortunate enough to have some very good and supportive managers. I make a special mention of Mr Ed Finlayson, who is currently the team manager at the state hospital at Carstairs. He had a lot to put up with in managing me.
There were many highs and lows in my career and a low point that I will never forget was the first time that I had to make an application to detain a young mother under mental health legislation. Some months later, she went on to commit suicide. We always wonder whether we could have done things differently or better but, for some people—as Trish Godman will know—mental illness is terminal.
I also have many positive memories and achievements. One is that a young offender whom I supervised on a probation order used to say to me in all earnestness that he would rather have spent six months in Saughton than see me every week. That is a good example of effective community sentencing.
I never worked in a social work team that was fully resourced; there were always vacancies. I hope that, when people criticise social workers, they remember the serious workload and resource issues. However, I was somewhat heartened last night when I attended a school awards ceremony for a primary 7 class and, among all the boys who wanted to be footballers and jet pilots and the surprising number of girls who wanted to be beauticians and hairdressers, there was one pupil who wanted to be a social worker and another who wanted to be a social care worker. So perhaps there is hope for the future.
I add my support to the many social workers who, unlike me, continue to practise and to make daily the best, albeit hard decisions.
I, too, congratulate Christina McKelvie on securing the debate. I confess that, like Trish Godman and Angela Constance, I suffer from the personality disorder of having been a social worker prior to becoming a politician.
A few months ago, I was walking through a street in Kilmarnock, my home town, when a young woman approached me and started chatting to me. After a couple of minutes, she said, "You have no idea who I am, do you?" and I had to confess that I did not. She told me a bit about herself—she had four kids, was now running her own business and stayed in a fairly nice part of the town. Then she told me her name and it immediately struck me that I had been her social worker when she was a teenager. I would never have recognised her and, indeed, had not heard from the family for a number of years.
A number of speakers have said that we do not recognise when things go well in social work. That young woman said to me, "There are times when, if you hadn't been there, I don't know what our family would have done." I do not say that to make myself sound any different from any other social worker who goes out there on a day and daily basis, but it is the story that does not get told. Social workers have to be there when nobody else is prepared to take on the challenges.
The things that I had to do while working with that family included literally going in with the rubber gloves on and the black bin bags, telling the mother that the house was a tip and that that was not acceptable and getting stuck in to help her clean it up. I had to provide the alcohol counselling for her when she needed it; I took the young kids in the family away on weekends to Arran and other places because they did not get the opportunity to do that sort of thing; and I ran group work programmes to encourage them to get involved. Eventually the mother in that situation became a volunteer in a local play scheme, so I had to be available at weekends and out of hours to do that type of work.
Again, I do not say that to make me sound any different from any other social worker. That was the job that we did, because the emphasis was very much on ensuring that we worked with the family. Interestingly, much of that work was non-statutory, and I suspect that the social workers who are currently under pressure to meet the legal requirements find that they do not have the luxury to do such work and have to rely instead on trying to find others to do it. It is a sorry state of affairs that social workers say that they cannot do that work any longer.
There has been much talk in the chamber this evening about the links between social work and politics. For me, those links are about the point at which people's private troubles become public issues; I remember those phrases well from the time that I spent studying social work at the University of Glasgow. There is the whole issue about the point at which you decide that it is not simply that an individual needs social work support, but that the system needs to be changed in order to allow people to have a better quality of life. That links in with what Hugh O'Donnell was talking about.
We do not talk enough about what social workers actually do and the difference that they can make to people's lives, and to families and communities. As we have heard, we all too often only hear about things when they go wrong. Christina McKelvie said that we do not want to scapegoat social workers, and that is true. Equally, however, we need to be honest about where there are systemic failures. As a profession that is built on arguing for change, social work is well able constantly to review its practices and consider change for the future.
I welcome tonight's debate, and the opportunity to highlight the positive work that is done. I hope that we get more opportunities to highlight the range of things that social workers are involved in doing, and that we do not focus only on the difficult decisions that have to be made—and that are made—every day.
Even at the height of all the difficulties that I faced when I was a Government minister—members will recall that there were a few scary moments—I never found them as terrifying as the decisions that I had to make as a basic grade or a senior social worker, when I went into a situation in which we had to decide whether children came into care, because I was so conscious of the impact that that would have on people's lives. I hope that each and every one of us, as we go about making the hard decisions that we have to make on a day and daily basis, spare a thought for the people who are out there making such decisions on our behalf. They are doing it on behalf of society, not just the local authorities for which they work.
I thank Christina McKelvie for bringing the debate to the chamber, and for her excellent speech.
Scotland's social work and social care services contribute significantly to the Government's overall purpose: the creation of a more successful country with opportunities for all of Scotland—including the most disadvantaged and vulnerable in our society—to flourish through sustainable economic growth.
A fundamental resource in that often complex and difficult area is the workforce, so, along with developing the capacity to deliver personalised services, the key issue that we have been pursuing through "Changing Lives: Report of the 21st Century Social Work Review" is to ensure that we have a confident, competent and valued workforce.
Recruitment and retention trends in social work services continue to improve. Official statistics released today show that in Scottish local authorities, nearly 57,000 posts are filled with full and part-time staff employed in social work services, which equates to just over 44,200 whole-time equivalent staff. Vacancies among social workers, which reached a high of 13 per cent in 2003, are down to 7 per cent. The number of whole-time equivalent social workers has increased by 31 per cent from 2001, to just under 5,100, and the number of social work students is on the increase. The number of undergraduates should rise by around 40 per cent over the next three years, to about 500.
I am pleased to say that the numbers are healthy, but what about the quality of provision? Clearly, staff who deliver services must have the knowledge, skills and values to allow them to improve the quality of outcomes for service users. Regulation of the workforce through registration places a condition that staff will have the appropriate qualifications for the job that they undertake. However, that is only the beginning. All will be subject to post-registration training and learning requirements, as set by the Scottish Social Services Council, to ensure that they not only maintain but update their skills and knowledge.
Other measures have been put in place to support and encourage learning in the workplace. In December 2008, I launched the continuous learning framework, which will support all social service workers and employers to improve approaches to learning and development, career pathways and standards of practice. It will help employers to identify which staff need to do their jobs well not only now but in future.
The recognition of prior informal learning will enable staff to have their experience recognised, which will help them to gain credit towards qualifications. We fund six centres of excellence, which deliver specialist training in areas such as drug and alcohol misuse and residential child care.
Students of the social work degree now undertake 200 days of practice learning in the course of their degree, which must include actual practice on child protection cases. The sector is recognised for the work that it is doing to upskill its workforce, and we must support and encourage that approach.
Skills and leadership are needed at all levels. Nigel Don and Trish Godman made good points about that. Staff need to experience strong leadership and support, with a clarity of vision for services and support that can drive and sustain improved performance. High morale and confidence flow from that, and staff at all levels will benefit from effective management from skilled leaders.
As MSPs, we need to speak up to support front-line workers. I congratulate Christina McKelvie and all the other speakers for the tone of the debate, which has been enhanced by valuable contributions from the former social workers in our midst.
The wider public do not often see the work that is done on their behalf or appreciate the difficulties that are faced, nor do they hear of the successes and happy endings. For every bad news story, there are a thousand good news stories—of children helped, families supported and lives improved, through the commitment and professionalism of front-line workers throughout Scotland. That is why we welcomed the decision by the Association of Directors of Social Work and the Scottish Social Services Council to develop a public relations strategy to raise a constructive profile of social work services. Like Christina McKelvie, I attended the launch in April.
While we should be quick to recognise the important contribution that the workforce makes, we should not be afraid to challenge where there are problems. We must face up to it when things go wrong, fix things that have not worked and learn for the future. The unacceptable shortcomings in services to protect children that were highlighted in the HMIE report on Dundee that was published yesterday are a case in point. I have sought and obtained urgent assurances from senior Dundee officials that immediate and significant remedial action is under way. As has been highlighted, multi-agency collaboration and co-operation across the sector is crucial. We will continue to work positively with Dundee City Council, Tayside Police and NHS Tayside so as to be assured that progress is sustained. HMIE has been asked to revisit Dundee within six months to report on progress.
I remind members that Scotland's child protection inspection system is the most robust in the United Kingdom. Previous critical HMIE reports have led to significant, measurable improvements in services to protect children. Today's publication of the interim follow-through report on Aberdeen is a good example of that, and it shows promising early progress in the six months since the initial inspection. I have challenged poor practice in the past and I will continue to do so. I encourage those who work in services, at whatever level, to do the same.
Changing lives tools such as the continuous learning framework and the evolving leadership framework will help. The self-evaluation guide from the Social Work Inspection Agency, the recent guidance on the role of the chief social work officer and the developing practice governance framework will also support workforce development and sustainable change and improvement. However, there is more to be done, and we all have a part to play.
I thank all the members who have participated in this evening's debate.
Meeting closed at 17:46.