Why is law not enough?

Gwyneth Roberts

To know about the body of social work law is not enough, obviously, because social work takes place within society and social workers bring to bear their knowledge about this body of law, they bring it bear on specific situations, so they have to be skilled in applying the law. In understanding, in defining, in assessing the situation that they are in and then choosing what area of that social work law is appropriate in order to help their clients and their service users. So, of course, they need social work values, they need social work skills, to be competent, well functioning social workers.

Alison Brammer

Law’s an important area for social workers but it’s not enough in itself. It needs to be seen as part of social work practice, it needs to be seen as integral to that practice but not dictating or dominating practice. There will be many opportunities for social workers to exercise choice about their use of law. In some situations they may decide that a particular provision is so discriminatory that it would be inappropriate to use it in current practice. There may be other situations where social workers will find a particular provision to be empowering both to themselves perhaps or to service users. It’s clear that law doesn’t exist in a vacuum. We have choices about how it is used, about when it is used. And that’s where the relationship between law and social work values is really crucial. And the way that social workers can choose to use law to support anti-discriminatory practice perhaps rather than to provide a further example of discrimination.

Stuart Vernon

Law as an element of social work practice is, I would say it is central, but it’s not everything. Social work practitioners bring their own knowledge, their own values, their own education to their practice. And that’s where it inter-relates with the other elements of their practice. Law being a central element of that. Social workers, I think, have to understand the role of law in their practice. Not to be afraid of it, not to have a negative attitude towards it but to see it, as I said before, as a space within which they can develop their practice. For the benefits of their clients, their service users, customers, but also for the benefits of their own profession as well. And as a vehicle or a forum within which the values of social work can be recognised.