1. Judicial Reviews and Ombudsman Reports
Disconcerting reflections on law, ethics and the quality of social work practice

2. Structure of the legal rules
Primary legislation (Acts of Parliament)
Secondary legislation (Regulations, Statutory Instruments)
Policy Guidance
Practice Guidance
Case law
Audit agency procedures – the law ‘in between’ and the process of translation

3. Ethical positions Duty to act proportionately when qualifying rights
Least intervention appropriate
Positive duty to promote ECHR rights
Accountable for practice and decision-making
Challenge discrimination
Evolving understanding of Convention rights
Meaningful consultation prior to decisions
Sharing information on which reliance placed
Decisions must reasonable
Give reasons for decisions
In writing
Opportunity to challenge decisions
Agree records
Procedural fairness
Reasonable assessment and intervention

4. Social Workers’ Code of Practice
Practice should:
emphasise human dignity and worth
enhance people’s well-being & ensure their protection
promote their rights
challenge and work to improve agency policies, procedures and service provision
notify employers of resource or other difficulties impacting on safe working
be lawful

5. Employers’ Code of Practice
Employers must:
give staff information about relevant legislation for their work
ensure commitment to social work values, principles and knowledge
provide effective supervision
establish systems to facilitate reporting of operational difficulties
support social workers so as not to put their registration at risk

6. Acknowledgements
Most social work are conscientious but overworked and lacking the resources to practise as they would like (Re F [2008])
Practitioners and departments perform valuable work that demonstrates dedication, skill and care in meeting people’s complex needs (Re X (Emergency Protection Orders [2006]; Re B [2007]; Re D [2008])

7. True stories
Grace’s stories – an aborted home visit and inventing Children Act 1989 powers
A social worker’s tale – changed witness statement
An inspector’s experience – reluctance to apologise
Expert by experience accounts of complaints procedures
Whistleblower experiences – hostility of truth spoken to power
Student experiences – where is the law here?
What we know about the lived experience of work

8. Case law as evidence Judicial reviews
Flawed assessment and service provision
Pierce v Doncaster MBC [2007]
Failure to follow statutory guidance
R (Kaur) v Ealing LBC [2008]
Attempt to limit applicability of legal rules
R (Behre and Others) v Hillingdon LBC [2003]
R (G) v Southwark LBC [2009]
Resource led decisions
R (Goldsmith) v Wandsworth LBC [2004]
Critical of expressed attitudes and values
Re F (A Child) [2008]
Critical of practice standards
R(CD & VD) v Isle of Anglesey CC [2004]
Like a computer virus – a system infected

9. Investigation evidence
Ombudsman reports
Denial of services
Failure to monitor and review care
Failure to assess
Failure to act on complaints
Delays in service provision and assessment
Failure to protect
Failure to support staff
What has happened to social work?

10. Law in practice research
Law is implicit rather than explicit, both in expectations of placement learning and in the learning opportunities provided to students on placement. This mirrors how law is sometimes a less visible aspect of practice;
The role of the organisation is influential in creating or constraining a learning environment in which law can be seen as a significant feature of practice;
The legal knowledge and skills of the practice teacher, and their recognition of these, are influential in enabling students to engage with law learning. Maintenance and development of legal competence is a neglected aspect of practitioners’ continuing professional development in law, but is crucial in enabling practitioners to respond to organisational constraints on practice;

11. Practice assessors’ commentary
“No-one actually mentions law. It’s more of an assumption that it’s there.”
Whilst I am an experienced practitioner, I would not have the confidence in my knowledge to pass on that information.”
“We need to teach students to implement agency policy.”
“When you are qualified you really cannot go out there and change the world; you can only work within the requirements and statutes that your agency allows you to.”

12. Research evidence
Practitioners and managers may collude in departing from best practice
Absence of challenge to unlawful & unethical practice – hostility towards whistle blowers
Dealing with ethical concepts and ethical dilemmas is limited in practice learning
Ethical codes do not ensure best practice
Abusive practice across social (care) work
Reinstatement by Care Standards Tribunal of social workers – mitigating factors in inadequate supervision, chaotic departments, lack of supervision and management action (LA v GSCC [2007]; Forbes v GSCC [2008])

13. How? Corruption of care (Wardhaugh and Wilding 1993)
Client characteristics leading to neutralisation of moral concerns
Power and process in enclosed organisations
Complexity of work exacerbated by constraints
Absence of accountability

14. Or … Administrative evil (Adams and Balfour 1998)
Conformity to organisational procedures
Dulling of conscience and absence of independent critical thought
Erosion of personal judgement
Public policy-making encouraging moral inversion

15. Through the glass darkly?
Muddled accountability – to whom when?
Limited accountability – delegated not designated powers and duties
Ill-defined codes – what is a breach? Assume favourable agency climate and autonomy
Prisoners of bureaucracy or conversations without rank? Rethinking location for practice.
Scrutinising the ethics ‘in-between’
Rediscovering moral activity

16. Law and ethical literacy
The distillation of knowledge, understanding, skill and values that enables practitioners to connect relevant legal rules with the professional priorities and objectives of ethical practice
Plus the emotional resilience to comment, challenge, critique and resist

17. Professor Michael Preston-Shoot
Dean, Faculty of Health & Social Sciences
University of Bedfordshire