Transcript

SPEAKER 1

What are the biggest challenges facing social workers in Scotland today?

SPEAKER 2

I think the biggest challenge that's facing social work in Scotland today is really around austerity. There's been years of budget freezes-- or budget cuts and a request for the local authority in general and social work services to save money. And this has led to our resources in the local area being quite stretched and limited. And whether that be third sector agencies, maybe not receiving funding the following year, or being limited in what they're able to provide.

SPEAKER 3

At the moment, I'm working a caring community team, and I think that the amount of the waiting lists-- the size of the waiting lists and the pressure that you have. Because you are told to take time to work at the pace of the service user to use a person-centered approach. And you need to do these things in order to reach a positive outcome with the service user, but on the other side that there is hundreds of people waiting for you. So it's to balance the speed and the pressure that you-- in order to provide the service for everybody and not just for a few.

SPEAKER 1

OK. Thinking about social work in Northern Ireland, what do you think are the biggest challenges today in Northern Ireland in terms of social work?

SPEAKER 4

Well, at the minute, I think mental health issues and probably the lack of capacity and funding there.

SPEAKER 5

We've got an aging population. We're getting more people living later in life. And with that comes huge challenge in terms of supporting them well.