Procurement of Legal Investigation and Advocacy Service in Fitness to Practise

Description

Introduction - Fitness to Practise
Social Work England are looking for two Suppliers to deliver the following aims: 
1.	Conducting further investigation and preparing cases for Fitness to Practise hearings or meetings.
2.	Undertaking pre-hearing case management procedures in accordance with agreed performance targets and in collaboration with other parties to the hearing.
We are looking for up to two Suppliers to prepare cases for Fitness to Practise hearings or meetings and to ensure the presentation of cases before a panel of independent adjudicators. 
As part of our duty to protect the public, if a social worker falls seriously short of the   standards expected of them, we can either remove them from the register or restrict what they can do professionally. These powers, given to us by Parliament, cover all registered social workers across both child, family and adult social care.
A social workers' fitness to practise may be found impaired for a number of reasons, including but not limited to:
•	Conduct
•	Competence
•	Health
•	Caution, Conviction or determination by another regulator
•	Not having the necessary knowledge of English
When a service user, member of the public, employers or other public body has a concern about the standard of a social worker's practise, they can raise this with Social Work England.
We will undertake to investigate serious matters which may pose a risk to public protection or public confidence in the profession and take action to restrict a social worker's practice in circumstances where it is necessary to do so.
The successful Bidders will prepare cases for a fitness to practise hearings or meetings and to present cases before Social Work England's adjudicators.