The Scottish Government has approved a proposed rise in registration fees for social workers and some other regulated staff, in the face of significant practitioner opposition.

As a result, the annual fee paid by social workers to the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) will rise, at a rate of £8 per year, from April 2025, reaching £120 in 2029, 50% more than the current £80 charge.

In addition, levies on practitioners and supervisors in care services will rise from £35 a year now to £51 in 2029-30, and those for support workers will grow from £25 to £37, with these changes also implemented incrementally.

Shifting burden of regulation to practitioners

The SSSC proposed the increases to shift the cost of regulation from taxpayers to registrants, in line with the Scottish Government’s policy intentions.

As a result, the proportion of regulatory costs met by professionals will rise from about 60% now to 78% by 2029-30.

However, the policy has met with widespread opposition from practitioners; 81.5% of respondents to a consultation disagreeing that the proposed fee increases were reasonable, with 67.9% disagreeing strongly.

The SSSC made some concessions on the back of the consultation, including deciding to freeze fees for social work students at £15 a year, dropping proposals to increase these by £2 per year.

Practitioners have rejected Social Work England’s proposed 33% rise in registration fees, with most saying that the regulator should focus on improving “value for money” instead, in response to a Community Care poll.

The plan, currently subject to a 12-week consultation, would mean fees for joining the register, and for annual renewal, would rise from £90 to £120 from 1 September 2025, before rising by a further 1.85% per year up to 2028-29.

The policy is designed to rebalance the regulator’s funding from taxpayers, who have borne a rising share of its funding since 2020, to social workers, whose registration fees have been frozen since 2015.

‘Improve value for money instead’

However, a Community Care poll with almost 2,000 votes, saw social workers objecting to the regulator’s move.

Most respondents (60%) rejected the proposal outright and said that Social Work England should instead “improve value for money”, while one-third believed the increase could only be justified if practitioners’ salaries were considerably improved.

Only 6% called the rise a “good idea”, in the context of the regulator’s struggles to resource fitness to practise cases.

‘A slap in the face for social workers’

The comments under the related article painted a picture of equally strong opposition, with many readers highlighting the lack of meaningful pay rises for social workers in recent years.

“This is really unfair, considering we haven’t had a pay rise in a long time,” said one practitioner.

“The work continues to get harder and more complex, including increased caseloads [and] less management support. Increasing the registration fee from £90 to £120 per year is just another slap in the face for social workers, who are already struggling to make ends meet.”

Joy called the move ‘unfair’, adding: “As a children’s social worker, my wage is small [and has not increased]. Increasing the fee is a big leap.”

‘It just cannot continue as it is’

Another social worker, Louise, believed the regulator’s aim to save taxpayers money would have been better served by improving working conditions for practitioners.

“The pressures of the job are destroying so many social workers and forcing them to quit or work in survival mode,” she said. “This [puts] pressure on other resources and the very people social workers [support] face the brunt of it all. This costs taxpayers even more!

“I would gladly pay the extra fees if Social Work England started to look at why so many social workers are on their knees. Instead of looking at their fitness/capacity to do the job, do something about what is stopping them and making them so disheartened! It just cannot continue as it is!”

‘Tokenistic’ consultation on proposal

A few readers criticised Social Work England’s consultation as “tokenistic”, with Christine Griffith saying the decision “has clearly already been made”.

She was also critical of the regulator for “excessive” delays to fitness to practise hearings and for its decision not to review a sample of practitioners’ continuing professional development submissions following last year’s registration renewal period.

“Each November, we are pressured to finish our continuing professional development (CPD) requirements, yet this year, they weren’t even reviewed!”

Jo M, who has completed Social Work England’s survey on its proposals, suggested CPD requirements should have been included in the consultation.

“I am really angry at this proposal. I work part-time due to caring responsibilities and would like a similar pay rise as pay awards always fall below the cost of living. I would like to know what I’m paying for and perhaps CPD requirements could have been included in the consultation.”

‘Social workers need to take action’

Others were doubtful whether practitioners would take action to oppose the fee increase.

“There is one thing that social workers can do, but won’t do – get organised across the country and mass refuse to pay the increase,” said Jack. “Employers would get involved as they can’t suddenly recruit hundreds of agency workers.”

He added: “I spent over a year on strike…and suffered enormous financial and psychological stress. We believed in the justness of our actions and, though […] previously good relationships were broken, we kept our jobs and nobody was given a negative reference if they chose to leave.”

Crispy added: “Social work enjoys being oppressed. It’s part of our martyr identity. Real-term pay cuts year on year but take one day for industrial action? Absolutely not, no thanks!”

Petition against rise

On the day of the announcement, some social workers launched an online petition calling for the regulator to rescind its proposal, which has received over 2,400 signatures.

While acknowledging the rising costs of fitness to practise cases, the petition organisers urged the regulator to address the “root causes” of these, such as “excessive caseloads, workplace stress, and inadequate support”, rather than “placing the financial burden on social workers”.

You can respond to Social Work England’s consultation survey until 13 May 2025.

Social worker registration fees are to rise from £80 to £120 per year in Scotland by 2029, the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) has decided.

Subject to Scottish Government approval, payments will rise by £8 per year from 2025-26 until the end of the decade, after the SSSC’s governing council decided to implement proposals put out for consultation last year.

The rise for social workers would be the first since 2017, when annual fees more than doubled, from £30 to £80, and would take annual charges for practitioners above those in Wales (£80) and significantly above those in Northern Ireland (£65).

The decision comes with Social Work England consulting on increasing the annual registration fee for practitioners from £90 to £120 this year, and then further raising it by increments until 2028-29, when it would reach £127.

Concessions on original proposals

The SSSC’s decision came despite widespread opposition to the proposed changes in its consultation, which garnered 3,178 responses, 92.4% of which were from registrants.

However, it did make concessions on proposed increases for other groups of registrants, including social work students, whose annual charges had been slated to rise by £2 a year. Instead, they will now remain at £15 a year.

Managers of care services and inspectors at the Care Inspectorate will also see their fees frozen, at £80 a year, after the SSSC dropped plans to increase them by £8 a year in a similar way to social workers.

The SSSC has also delayed, by one year, plans to raise registration fees for care service practitioners and supervisors by £4 a year, and increase those for support workers by £3 a year. These increases will now kick in from 2026-27, taking charges for practitioners and supervisors from £35 a year now to £51 in 2029-30, and those for support workers from £25 to £37.

No impact, currently, on local authority staff

As currently stands, the increases in fees will not affect staff working in local authorities for whom registration is required by law, including the majority of Scotland’s social workers.

This is because, under the 2022 local government pay agreement, the Scottish Government agreed to pay these fees, something it continues to do, via a grant to the SSSC that was worth £2.6m in 2023-24.

In a statement to Community Care, a Scottish Government spokesperson said that it “continues to meet the legacy obligations of the 2022 local government pay deal”.

As of January 2025, there were 10,896 social workers on the register, while, as of the end of 2023, Scottish councils employed 6,427 social workers, meaning most practitioners do not pay the fee.

Rationale for fee increase

The SSSC’s rationale for the fee increases was to shift the balance of funding for its regulatory functions from the Scottish Government to registrants themselves.

When the regulator was set up, in 2001, the intention was for registration fees to eventually cover the full costs of regulation, as is the case for health professional regulators, such as the Nursing & Midwifery Council.

Currently, fees cover about 60% of the SSSC’s regulatory costs, though this includes the Scottish Government’s grant to cover charges for local authority employees. Under the changes, this proportion is projected to rise to 78% by 2029-30, compared with 85% under the regulator’s original plans.

Widespread opposition from practitioners

In response to the consultation, 81.5% of respondents disagreed that the proposed fee increases were reasonable, with 67.9% disagreeing strongly. Among social workers, 85.7% disagreed, 70.5% doing so strongly.

Text responses from practitioners identified “a strong sentiment that they did not agree with the fee rise or in some cases paying a fee at all, particularly with local authority workers having their fees paid for them,” said the SSSC.

Respondents also cited recruitment challenges, the “financial strain on a low paid workforce who would struggle to pay”, in the context of cost of living issues, and the disproportionate effect of the changes on part-time workers.

Alternatives suggested included having the Scottish Government fund all fees or having a smaller increase, particularly for the lowest paid.

‘More work to do’ – the SSSC

The SSSC said having the Scottish Government or employers meet the costs of fees was beyond its control, but added that its concessions were in response to some of the concerns raised in the consultation, including about the impact on lower-paid registrants.

Respondents also called for more transparency about the role of the SSSC and the value it delivers.

Addressing registrants, it said: “From the consultation we know that we have more work to do to continue to improve understanding of our role and the benefits of being registered.

“We will better explain our role as a regulator which is to improve standards and protect the public, rather than the role of a membership body which some of you think we are, and we will do more to highlight the support we provide for developing your practice and careers in this sector.”

SASW ‘deeply concerned’ by fee rise

The Scottish Association of Social Work (SASW) said it was “deeply concerned” by the rise in social worker fees.

“This comes at a time when social workers are already facing unprecedented financial pressures due to the cost-of-living crisis and years of real-terms pay erosion,” said national director Alison Bavidge.

She said the association’s recent surveys had indicated that 67% of social workers were struggling financially, while 88% reported unmanageable workloads.

“Increasing the financial burden on practitioners risks further undermining morale and retention in a profession already under immense strain,” she warned.

Bavidge called for the Scottish Government to cover the fees of all registrants, not just those of local authority employees.

“Social workers provide essential services to Scotland’s most vulnerable citizens,” she added. “They deserve to be supported, not further burdened.”

Principal social workers (PSWs) have said they are “deeply concerned” about the impact of Social Work England’s plan to raise registration fees by 33%.

The Adult Principal Social Worker Network has warned that the proposal risks increasing hardship for social workers and exacerbating workforce instability and retention problems, in a statement responding to the regulator’s plan.

Proposed fee rises

Under the proposal, issued for consultation last month, the fee to join the register, and to annually renew, would rise from £90 to £120 from 1 September 2025.

At the same time, the free to be restored to the register for practitioners who have left would increase from £135 to to £180, while overseas practitioners would face a £670 charge for scrutiny of their application to register in England, up 35% on the current £495.

All three fees would then rise by 1.85% per year up to 2028-29.

How Social Work England justifies plan

Social Work England’s rationale for the proposals is to take account of the higher-than-expected costs it has faced since becoming the profession’s regulator in 2019.

These excess costs have been borne by the taxpayer – via the Department for Education – with registration fees having remained flat, as they have been since 2015.

According to Social Work England, this was “not sustainable over the longer-term given the significant strain on public finances”.

Widespread criticisms from social workers

The plans have been widely criticised by social workers, across social media platforms and on Community Care, with UNISON also coming out in opposition to them.

Meanwhile, the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and Social Workers Union have voiced concerns about the impact on practitioners, in the light of pressures on the cost of living.

These concerns were echoed by the Adult PSW Network, which said: “Social workers are already facing significant financial pressures due to the ongoing cost of living crisis which makes any additional financial burden particularly difficult to manage.

PSWs’ concerns for low-paid and retention

“An increase in registration fees adds to this strain and may disproportionately impact lower-paid social workers.”

It also highlighted the potentially adverse impact on part-time staff, those with caring responsibilities and practitioners working in the voluntary sector.

The network also warned that any fee increase risked “exacerbating workforce instability”, adding: “Social workers already experience high levels of stress and burnout, with financial pressures adding to their reasons for leaving the profession.

“A fee increase could further deter new entrants and push experienced practitioners out of the workforce.”

Some councils cover the costs to practitioners of their annual registration fees, but the network warned that the proposed rise could lead authorities to cease doing so, in the face of “severe financial deficits”.

Network seeks dialogue with Social Work England

The network said it was “committed to working with Social Work England to explore alternative solutions that support the financial sustainability of regulation without disproportionately impacting social workers”.

It said it was seeking dialogue with the regulator in relation to:

• Ensuring that any increase is proportionate, phased and justified, with clear evidence of improved regulatory functions.
• Engaging stakeholders across the sector to consider a universal reimbursement of fees.
• Exploring alternative funding models that do not place the burden solely on individual registrants.

Respond to the consultation

The consultation on the proposals runs until 13 May 2025; you can take part by filling in this survey or emailing consultation.responses@socialworkengland.org.uk, using the subject line, ‘fees consultation’, to answer the following questions:

1. To what extent do you agree that the proposed increases to fees in 2025 to 2026 are reasonable in balancing implications for taxpayers and for social workers?
2. To what extent do you agree that the proposed incremental increases to fees from 2026 to 2029 are reasonable in giving clarity about future fees?
3. Do you think that the proposed changes to the fees could have a positive or negative impact on people with any of the following protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity.

Celebrate those who’ve inspired you

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Do you have a colleague, mentor, or social work figure you can’t help but gush about?

Our My Brilliant Colleague series invites you to celebrate anyone within social work who has inspired you – whether current or former colleagues, managers, students, lecturers, mentors or prominent past or present sector figures whom you have admired from afar.

Nominate your colleague or social work inspiration by filling in our nominations form with a few paragraphs (100-250 words) explaining how and why the person has inspired you.

*Please note that, despite the need to provide your name and role, you or the nominee can be anonymous in the published entry*

If you have any questions, email our community journalist, Anastasia Koutsounia, at anastasia.koutsounia@markallengroup.com

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Social Work England has proposed increasing its fees by a third this year, in a consultation launched today.

The proposal is designed to rebalance the regulator’s costs away from taxpayers, who have borne a rising share of its funding since its inception in 2019, while fees for social workers have remained fixed.

However, the move has been criticised by UNISON and the Social Workers Union for exacerbating the cost-of-living pressures facing practitioners.

Planned fee increases

The plan would see fees for joining the register, and for annual renewal, rise from £90 to £120 from 1 September 2025.

At the same time, the fee for restoration for former registrants would rise from £135 to £180, while overseas practitioners would face a £670 charge for scrutiny of their application to register in England, up 35% on the current £495.

These would be the first rises in registration fees in England since 2015, when then regulator the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) increased the annual registration fee from £80 to £90.

Social Work England said the increases were designed to take into account the impact of inflation over the past decade, and would be followed by annual rises of 1.85% in fees up to 2028-29, in line with forecasted price rises.

That would take the initial registration and renewal fees to £127, the restoration fee to £190 and the scrutiny fee to £708.

Why is Social Work England planning to increase fees?

Social Work England’s justification for its proposals is to rebalance the income it receives from social workers and from its sponsoring government department, the Department for Education (DfE).

In 2020-21, its first full year as regulator, it received £9.123m in registration fees – amounting to 48% of its income – and £9.777m (52%) from the DfE.

By 2023-24, the balance had shifted to it receiving 57% from the DfE (£13.2m) and 43% from registrants (£10.09m).

Social Work England said the rise in DfE funding had been “much needed”, to deal with higher than expected costs, including from the number and complexity of fitness to practise (FtP) cases inherited from the HCPC, the volume of new FtP concerns it has received and inflation.

Current position ‘not sustainable’

“We propose that a fee increase is required, to both take account of broader inflation, and to ensure that this balance remains proportionate and fair, for social workers, for those that need their support, and for the taxpayer,” the regulator said.

“To not increase our fees would potentially exacerbate this tension between the taxpayer and social worker fees contributions, and is not sustainable over the longer-term given the significant strain on public finances.”

However, the move was heavily criticised by UNISON, the union with the greatest number of social worker members.

Criticism from unions 

National social work officer Gill Archer said Social Work England had “failed to make the case for such a large increase”, at a time when social workers’ pay was “already failing to match the increased price of food and bills”.

“Hitting staff with an increase like this risks pricing some out of a sector that’s already suffering a recruitment and retention crisis,” she warned.

The Social Workers Union (SWU) was also critical, with general secretary John McGowan saying: “I fully understand the need for any organisation to increase fees but this percentage seems to be extremely large in comparisons with other organisations and regulators; particularly at a time when we are all experiencing the pressures of day to day living.

“It would be terrific if social work salaries were increased at a similar percentage rate but this is never going to happen.”

‘Social workers will be expecting improvements’

For the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), chief executive Ruth Allen said practitioners would be expecting to see improvements from any fee rise.

“Many social workers already face financial pressures, and a sharp fee increase adds to this burden,” she said.

Given that Social Work England is a government body, social workers will question how costs should be shared between government and individual registrants.

“If fees rise, social workers will be expecting improvements, particularly in improved fitness to practice processes. We will consult our members openly and push for a fair outcome.”

Comparison with other regulators 

This year’s rise would bring Social Work England’s annual renewal fee into line with those of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (£120) and the HCPC, whose current rate of £116.36 is due to rise to £123.34 this year.

However, it would be significantly above the annual fees for social workers regulated by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), Social Care Wales (both £80) and the Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC), whose rate is £65.

Unlike the NMC and HCPC, which both rely upon fees alone for their running costs, but like Social Work England, the SSSC, Social Care Wales, the NISCC and Social Work England are partly government funded.

However, Social Work England said that the other three UK social care bodies regulated other social care roles, alongside social workers, and had different legislative remits to its own.

It also pointed to the fact that the SSSC had recently consulted on increasing its fees, which would see the cost to social workers rise to £88 in 2025-26 and, incrementally, to £120 in 2029-30.

Relief on fees

Some local authorities pay the costs of social workers’ annual registration fees while practitioners for whom the charge is not covered can claim tax relief on their payments.

This applies at the marginal tax rate that practitioners pay (generally 20% or 40%), meaning a basic rate (20%) taxpayer can claim £24 back on the £120 fee they will likely face in 2025-26.

The tax relief can be backdated for four years.

Respond to the consultation

The 12-week consultation on Social Work England’s proposals runs until 13 May 2025.

The regulator is asking for responses to the following questions:

1. To what extent do you agree that the proposed increases to fees in 2025 to 2026 are reasonable in balancing implications for taxpayers and for social workers?
2. To what extent do you agree that the proposed incremental increases to fees from 2026 to 2029 are reasonable in giving clarity about future fees?
3. Do you think that the proposed changes to the fees could have a positive or negative impact on people with any of the following protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity.

You can respond by answering this survey or emailing consultation.responses@socialworkengland.org.uk using the subject line, ‘fees consultation’.