Anti-racism Action Plan for the Scottish Social Work Sector What we are going to do to make social work actively anti-racist

Background

The global events of 2020, including the murder of George Floyd and the unequal impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, underscored the urgent need for a strong anti-racism commitment from the health, social care and social work sector.

First Minister, John Swinney, emphasised the seriousness of racism in his vision for “One Scotland,” where people live in safety, peace, and prosperity. This vision made tackling racism a national priority. The Programme for Government 2024-25 includes a pledge to embed anti-racism across the public and third sectors. More recently, in September 2024, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care reaffirmed the necessity of a resolute anti-racism approach to address racism’s effects and improve services across the NHS, social care, and social work sectors.

In July 2023, the Scottish Government, Scottish Association of Social Work (SASW), and sector partners formed the Social Work Anti-Racism Oversight Group. This group aims to develop and implement a national action plan to tackle systemic racism in social work.

The group organised a series of meetings and workshops to develop a joint statement of intent aimed at fostering an actively anti-racist culture within the Scottish social work sector. Finalised in November 2024, the statement set out a firm, collective commitment from all members to promote anti-racism across the sector at every opportunity, including:

• commissioning the first national survey on anti-racism in social work;
• developing tailored learning resources to address the sector’s need for additional training; and
• publishing an action plan to turn commitments into action.