£40.9 million has been allocated to procuring suppliers to help bring the backlog down.
There are currently around 400 Fitness to Practice cases awaiting a final hearing and judgment, according to Social Work England.
The social sector regular is looking for partners who can conduct further investigations into these matters, undertake pre-hearing management procedures in line with performance targets and collaborate with all relevant parties.
Cases will also need to be presented before adjudicators at hearings, which will either take place online via video call or at the Authority’s headquarters in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. The process is contracted is expected to run for up to five years, although it could be possible to clear the workload in three years, with the initial agreement set to last from 22nd July 2026 to 21st July 2029.
A spokesperson for SWE said: ‘By the end of this period, the intention is to have worked successfully in partnership with the suppliers to both eliminate the backlog and to be managing a ‘steady state’ of circa 150 cases being processed per annum.’
Image: Unseen Studio / Unsplash
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