Scotland’s largest social work association is calling for fairer local government funding, workforce support and improved pay for social workers to be a priority for Holyrood politicians.

Scottish Association of Social Work has today published its election manifesto for the Scottish parliament’s 2026 elections, outlining that ‘social work is at the heart of our public services’.

The manifesto ‘A Secure Future for Scottish Social Work,’ urges leaders across Scotland to take radical action that tackles the crises facing local public services and the communities they serve.

Launching the manifesto, National Director at SASW Alison Bavidge said this action must span from multi-year for local projects to protecting and growing the social work workforce:

“Social work is central to Scotland’s public services and to thriving and safe communities.

“Our manifesto highlights that local government currently does not have the resource to support citizens who are struggling with crisis in their lives or to help people who just need a bit of help to avert a potential crisis.

“We need funding for local services that is based on fair pay and conditions for workers.

“Funding to local government must move from short term, one-year budgets to a position where people can rely on local support services year-on-year, in which local workers can be confident that they will have good quality jobs.

“Our members are dedicated and skilled public servants, but they need the right support and tools to deliver the services everybody in Scotland deserves.”

The manifesto says that when social workers are recognised in their role as skilled professionals central to upholding human rights and supporting health and care, they can ‘transform lives’.

This comes after the Scottish Association of Social Work said the government’s care reforms mark a “welcome step” to uplift the profession with the legislation including plans to deliver a social work-specific government adviser and national agency.

However, the representative organisation for social workers says the profession is currently suffering a ‘crisis in workforce recruitment and retention of highly qualified and committed people’ in Scotland.

The government must not ignore the ‘perfect storm’ of poor working conditions and increasing workloads underpinning this, the social work leaders say.

With some local authority teams operating at only 50% capacity, according to the organisation, pressure has increased on new and remaining social workers and its election manifesto urges politicians to commit to meeting workforce needs.

Its manifesto emphasises the ‘crucial connections’ social work has with health, social care, education and justice systems and calls for national action to better embed and integrate social work into communities.

The Scottish Association of Social Work is also urging the next Scottish government to address poverty which is driving increasingly ‘unsustainable demand’ for services.

It says delivering a minimum income guarantee which ensure every person across the country has enough money to live could – if rolled out at ‘maximum speed’ – reverse what the SASW calls the tide of ‘intolerable poverty’.

Ms Bavidge added:

“The next Scottish government must start the work to fix increasingly intolerable levels of poverty and hollowed-out public services created by nearly a generation of austerity.”

Read more: Racism driving social workers to consider leaving; Community support ‘vital' to asylum-seeking families; Pharmacists urge leaders to act for the profession; Social workers feel ‘demoralised’; Action needed to deliver dementia ambitions; Glasgow LEZ success sparks call for expansion

Sign up to our bulletin for key health & social care updates straight to your inbox.