Social workers and students to be trained on human trafficking

Frontline professionals across the UK are to be given training on how to identify and help child and adult victims of human trafficking, as part of a new Home Office initiative.

Social workers and students completing the social work degree across the UK will soon be given training on human trafficking, the government has announced.

The Home Office has awarded more than £70,000 in grants to the NSPCC, Stop the Traffik, Eaves, Thames Reach and the Counter Trafficking Bureau to provide training to those professionals most likely to encounter victims of trafficking in their day-to-day work.

The aim is to improve awareness and understanding of trafficking and to help professionals identify potential victims and give information on the practical support available, such as independent legal advice and counselling.

Experienced anti-trafficking practitioners will also provide information on referring suspected victims to support agencies including the UK’s victim identification and support system, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).

Students will be given training as part of their course, while formal training programmes and workshops will be integrated into practising social workers’ professional development modules and delivered in Cardiff, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Brighton and London.

Immigration minister Mark Harper said: “We have already made significant progress in the fight against trafficking, with more work than ever before to prosecute criminals and stop organised gangs in their tracks.

“But we are not complacent and training for frontline professionals is vital in order to identify and protect those at risk of harm.”

John Cameron, head of the NSPCC’s helpline, added: “This funding will help us train professionals who form the crucial first line of defence against this dreadful crime.

“It’s an extremely positive and welcome move by the government which will help strengthen child protection and bolster the battle against trafficking.”

Raising awareness among frontline professionals was a key objective set out in a report by the government’s Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group in October 2012.

Strengthening action in this area also supports the introduction of theEU directive on human trafficking, which comes into effect from April 2013.

In 2011, 946 potential victims of human trafficking were referred to the NRM. Of these 712 were adults and 234 children, up from 524 and 186 respectively in 2010.

Source: Community Care

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Victoria Climbié social worker must meet conditions to stay registered

Lisa Arthurworrey has not been employed as a social worker since 2002, when she was sacked by Haringey Council following the death of eight-year-old Victoria at the hands of her carers.

The social worker sacked following the death of Victoria Climbié more than a decade ago must comply with certain conditions if she wishes to remain registered to practise, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) ruled yesterday.

The committee reviewing Lisa Nicola Dawn Arthurworrey’s ongoing registration as a social worker said she must meet six conditions over the next year, including a requirement to undertake a psychiatric assessment and send the results to the regulator by 31 May.

She is not allowed to find employment through an agency and must notify the HCPC if and when she obtains a position as a social worker. She must also complete the HCPC’s return to practice requirements.

However, Community Care understands that Arthurworrey does not intend to return to social work practice.

Arthurworrey was Victoria’s allocated social worker at Haringey Council from August 1999 until the child’s death in February 2000, aged eight.

The social worker was repeatedly criticised after failings emerged in the trial of Victoria’s carers, Marie-Therese Kouao, and Carl John Manning, who were convicted of Victoria’s murder in 2001. Arthurworrey was dismissed by Haringey Council in November 2002.

But during Lord Laming’s inquiry into the case in January 2003, it emerged that she had not been properly supervised.

When the General Social Care Council (GSCC) launched its social care register in 2005, Arthurworrey applied to be included on it, but the regulator refused on conduct and competence grounds.

Arthurworrey appealed the decision and, in 2008, the Care Standards Tribunal ruled she should be allowed to register under certain conditions, such as undergoing a psychiatric assessment to prove her mental health was stable.

The GSCC finally granted her registration in February 2010, after Arthurworrey agreed to comply with eight conditions, including re-training, reporting to the GSCC on an annual basis and completing a health check before taking on any jobs. The conditions were reviewed and upheld in September 2011.

After the GSCC closed in July last year, the HCPC took over responsibility for registering social workers in England. The latter’s conduct and competence committee met yesterday to review Arthurworrey’s conditions of practice order.

Arthurworrey did not attend the hearing and provided no new information relating to her practice. She has not worked as a social worker since 2002.

The committee took account of medical evidence provided by Arthurworrey and written submissions made on her behalf, but concluded that it was still necessary for the protection of the public to impose conditions on her practice.

Source: Community Care