Social Service Professions Bill and Policy
The process of developing the Social Service Professions Bill has been put on hold.
Cabinet has issued a political directive that all new Bills must be supported by a policy document that outlines the vision of the legislation, and its intended impact. This will allow Cabinet and Parliament to engage more effectively with the legislation, and ensures that the law responds to the government’s priorities.
Therefore, the Department of Social Development’s strategic plan for 2010 (tabled in Parliament in March 2010) says that the Social Service Professions and Occupations Bill will not be tabled in the legislature before 2014. This will allow time for the development of a draft policy, consultation on the policy and the redrafting of the Bill in line with the vision set out in the final policy.
SSPAN has called for consultation on the Social Service Professions Policy and the department has assured the SSPAN Steering Committee that the process will be consultative. The department is busy producing a first draft and intends to circulate it for comment to social service professionals in 2011. Due to internal consultation in the department, a draft is not yet available, but the department has indicated that interested stakeholders may already send submissions on the challenges they are facing, and what they would like to see contained in a Social Service Professions Policy.
For more information on past developments, read the March 2101 newsletter or see previous newsletters and other SSPAN resources.