Equality, diversity and inclusion quarterly update

This update is for the period April to June 2026.  

Alongside our equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) action plan for 2026 to 2027 we’re aiming to bring you some of the highlights of the work completed each quarter.

Our work this quarter

EDI and co-production as guiding principles

Our business plan for 2026 to 2027 was published this quarter. This is the first time our EDI and co-production objectives are fully integrated into our business plan. By aligning our EDI priorities with our core planning and performance frameworks, we are reinforcing our long-term commitment to making inclusion, fairness and lived experience central to decision-making, service delivery and organisational culture.  

Read our EDI action plan for 2026 to 2027 which outlines how EDI and co-production are guiding principles that are embedded across all our business objectives.

Institute of Regulation commendation 

We are delighted to share that we were awarded second place in the 'innovative practice' category at this year's Institute of Regulation awards at the end of March 2026. 

Our data and insight, equality, diversity and inclusion and co-production, policy, and strategic engagement teams have been highly commended for their ongoing work around fitness to practise and diversity data. The judging panel noted that the work carried out by these teams demonstrates integrity and professionalism in a genuinely sensitive area of regulatory practice.

Advancing Workforce Race Equity in Health and Social Care: Shared Principles Across Regulators

We're proud to have pledged our commitment to the ‘Advancing Workforce Race Equity in Health and Social Care: Shared Principles Across Regulators’. These 9 principles have been developed collaboratively by health and social care regulators to create aligned regulatory momentum in tackling racism experienced by the workforce. They align with our public sector duty obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and our broader duty to ensure fair, transparent, and inclusive regulation. It also reflects our published outcome 4 of the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) standard 3 matrix, which states that "the regulator engages with and influences others to advance EDI issues and reduce unfair differential outcomes." 

Strengthening workforce race equity supports improved workforce wellbeing and performance, which in turn benefits the public we serve. We are already meeting the expectations set out in the 9 shared principles through our existing EDI work, regulatory strategy, and organisational culture initiatives, and this endorsement reflects our continued commitment to driving meaningful, lasting change in this area.

Strengthening our co-production offer at Social Work England

Our National Advisory Forum plays a vital role in ensuring co-production remains central to everything we do at Social Work England. Acting as a critical friend, the forum brings together a diverse range of people affected by our work — including social workers, social work students, educators, and those with lived experience of social work. We are now actively recruiting new forum members as some of our current members reach the end of their 3-year tenure this year. This will maintain the breadth of perspectives and expertise that make the forum so valuable.

We hope to appoint successful candidates shortly. As part of our recruitment process we welcomed applications from anyone who wants to use their voice to shape social work regulation. This included social work students, practising social workers, educators, or people with lived experience of social work. We are committed to ensuring the forum reflects the full diversity of the social work community, and we encouraged applications from people of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. 

Supporting the Single Point of Contact network with fair referral principles

This month, we joined the Single Point of Contact network event to explore the fair referral principles they helped co-produce. These principles aim to support consistent, proportionate decision-making around referrals. The session looked at how the fair referral principles can help support local decision-makers to ensure that the right referrals are made at the right time, in a way that is both fair and proportionate, while also supporting employers to manage concerns locally where appropriate and reduce unnecessary escalation. 

A key part of the session involved working through case studies with network members, prompting open discussion about what might be happening in complex situations, how concerns could be effectively addressed, and how similar issues might be prevented in future. This reflective approach is designed to build confidence and consistency in evidence-based decision-making across employers and practitioners. Building on the momentum of this session, our next steps are to hold a series of regional sessions led by our regional engagement leads, bringing together leaders, employers and practitioners to embed these principles more widely and support better outcomes at a local level.

The Lord Mann review on Antisemetism and Other Forms of Racism in the NHS

We welcome the Lord Mann Review on Antisemitism and Other Forms of Racism in the NHS, which reframes racism — including antisemitism — as a fundamental issue of safety, quality, and professional accountability in public services. Although the review is directed at the NHS, we recognise that its themes carry wider relevance for health and social care regulators like us, and we fully support its outcomes and the direction it sets. 

Much of what the review calls for already underpins our regulatory approach — from fair and transparent fitness to practise processes to anti-discriminatory professional standards and a commitment to addressing disproportionality. We will be sharing a plan setting out how we will take forward the review's recommendations, and we look forward to updating you on our progress.