Unison has warned that that the establishment of a national college of social work must not distract from vital reforms of social work jobs in the UK.

Nearly 40% of registered and qualified social workers in the UK are members of the union, which will be taking part in initial discussions over the proposed college. This week the Unison national officer for social workers, Helga Pile, said that the college "will not be a magic bullet" for solving the problems highlighted by last years Social Work Task force report.

"Our member's priorities for social work reform are tackling excessive workloads, improving defective IT systems, bringing down bureaucracy and giving social workers more time to spend with children and vulnerable adults" she said. "Our members need to see massive changes to improve their working conditions and boost their morale."

"Unison will be working to make sure that the debate around setting up a college does not become a distraction from getting on with the job of putting in place the important recommendations the social work task force has made."

Earlier this week, the British Association of Social Workers revealed that its governing members were debating their involvement with talks over the college, citing fears of Government interference. The task force recommended that a national college was established, so that training and qualifications for social work jobs could be standardised and students offered extra support. Its report found that many newly qualified social workers felt they were placed in adverse situations with a high degree of responsibility immediately upon leaving education.