Purpose
Scottish Ministers agreed in February 2025 to establish the NSWA as an Executive Agency of the SG.
The NSWA operates as an Executive Agency of the SG and is not a separate legal entity. The NSWA operates independently and impartially, whilst remaining directly accountable to Scottish Ministers for the standards of its work.
Whilst the NSWA was not itself established through legislation, the Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 required that that Scottish Ministers designate a member of their staff as the National Chief Social Work Adviser, supported by the NSWA, to advise Scottish Ministers on policy in relation to social work and the protection of individuals at particular harm of risk and prepare an annual report for Scottish Ministers on the state of social work services and the social work workforce.
The NSWA’s vision is to empower Scotland’s social work profession to champion social justice, protect rights and keep people safe across Scotland.
The NSWA will be responsible for leading excellence and driving positive change across the social work profession in Scotland, and for providing expert impartial social work advice to Scottish Ministers and Scottish Government policy teams. It will:
- advocate for all social workers (statutory, third sector, independent sectors), including students
- provide professional, impartial social work advice to Scottish Ministers
- report annually, via the National Chief Social Work Adviser, to Scottish Ministers on Scotland’s social work services and social work workforce
- support the National Chief Social Work Adviser to provide national professional leadership
- hold policy responsibility and oversight of social work education and professional learning;
- work with partners, including COSLA and Social Work Scotland, through the Scottish Social Work Partnership (SSWP), to have oversight of national workforce planning and workforce numbers
- enable collaboration and delivery of the Strategic Plan for Social Work in Scotland (2026–29), as part of the SSWP
- oversee improvement priorities and provide national implementation support
The Independent Review of Adult Social Care in Scotland found the approach to the social work workforce was inconsistent and uncoordinated across Scotland, and proposed establishing a ‘specific social work agency for oversight of professional development’.
The decision to establish a new public body was also taken on the basis of the compelling evidence of the need to address the long standing issues within the social work profession.
In agreeing to establish the NSWA a range of model options were considered as part of an options appraisal exercise in the outline business case. This included consideration of other public bodies to deliver the functions, but these were discounted because of their specific regulatory functions.