What is to be done?

the 'big speech'

Slowly emerging from a weekend of sleepy lethargy following all the excitement of the last week. I hope you enjoyed Conference this year, I was pleased to see so many colleagues there and to see such good attendance at plenary sessions. I hope this means you found it as interesting as I did. I had the conference filmed and I think it would be worth cutting a few 3 minute 'You Tube' type movies to spread the news of some of the good bits - let me know what you think and I will put them on the website (or Sophie will to be fair). All the presentations from the 3 days are now avilable on the ADSW website.

In case the news hasn't reached you yet, Peter Macleod was duly elected as our new VP at the AGM and within 24 hours he gave a barnstorming speech on the ADSW Manifesto and 'what is to be done'. Peter is leading for us on the work to evidence arguments for an outcomes approach to change and he will have been as pleased as I was to hear Professor Alison Petch of IRISS giving a talk on the evidence so far. It was most impressive, especially so as her work has not been under way for more than a month. The session with Sarah Gillinson seems to have fired the imagination with her talk on Radical Efficiency. A diverse series of international examples were given from Sweden and USA to rural India and Rwanda of engaging community enterprise to delivery effective outcomes for communities. Pat Kane challenged us to answer why we have no 'public intellectuals' in the mould of Robert Winston - someone who springs from a given profession, is identified with it, but can occupy a broader public space and enter wider debates. I'm not sure that he's entirely right but there are not too many and this does have a relationship with how we are perceived. (Pat tweeted on Thursday 'Great 2 meet the social workers at ADSW Conf. Crieff.') This brings me to the session with Jon Snow; I don't know about you but he fired me up with renewed interest in new media. We have had a Facebook page for some time - Social Work Changes Lives - and Harriet has been a good contributor but we need to reconsider how we use it. Furthermore, we don't 'tweet' and yet Scottish Govt, COSLA, Holyrood and most leaders in Scotland are getting involved - even Pat Watters is now commenting in this way. I propose that we make this good and encourage our council employers to open up to this technology. Speaking of Jon, he has written to say how much he enjoyed our conference. I have tweeted the Substance Abuse research to Jon at the request of the Standing Committee and he has promised to read it and pass it on to the New Horizons Day Centre in Camden where he has been involved for nearly 40 years.

I received an email from Yvonne Robson bearing good tidings regarding the new Minister for Social Work - apparently she is a social worker - Angela Constance MSP . Angela’s Wikipedia entry says Angela Constance (born July 15, 1970) is a Scottish National Party politician andMember of the Scottish Parliament for Almond Valley (formerly Livingston) since 2007. She was born in Blackburn, West Lothian, and raised in Addiewell and West Calder. While studying at the University of Glasgow she was elected President of Glasgow University Students' Representative Council. Before her election to Holyrood, Constance worked as a social worker and was a councillor for West Lothian Council where she was the SNP spokesperson for children services and lifelong learning. She also stood for the SNP in the Livingston by-election, 2005. This is very encouraging for us and I will be looking for an early meeting. Another interesting change given the lead commissioning proposals lastFebruary, is that Shona Robison is to move from Public Health to Commonwealth Games and Sport. Her place is to be taken by Michael Matheson MSP for Falkirk West. Michael is a registered OT and we have the curious prospect of working with a social worker and an OT as our key contacts! Adam Ingram was a constant supporter of social work and in particular, Changing Lives and I wish him well, but these changes offer encouragement.

Finally, I was particularly pleased to meet three day delegates at Crieff. Bob Grieg, Roberta Christie and Aileen Hutchison. They had travelled from Leven, Fife on Wednesday to support me on the day of my big speech. We first met at Leven ATC in May 1974 when I started work for Fife SWD as a day centre instructor and I have never forgotten the lessons in life that they and their friends taught me.

Bob Grieg, Roberta Christie, Andrew Lowe and Aileen Hutchison