To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the extent to which (a) adult and (b) child social care workers have been subjected to physical or verbal abuse in the most recent period for which figures are available. (115016)

Neither the Department (for adult services) nor the Department for Education and Skills (for children) keep data on the number of incidents of physical and verbal abuse against social workers. Social workers are employed by local councils, and by service providers in the private and voluntary sectors, and it is for those employers to manage incidence of abuse against their staff.

The Department’s task force on violence and abuse against social workers reported in 2000, and made a number of recommendations for employers, including that they should undertake a service and training needs analysis in this respect, and put into place and implement actions plans where required. The latest data collected by the Commission for Social Care Inspection from local councils for April 2005 indicates that more than 80 per cent. of councils had completed the task force recommendations mostly or in full.