Ex-social worker barred from practice

The South Wales Argus carries this report, which is strange in several ways.

A former Blaenau Gwent council social worker has been banned banned from working as a social worker in the UK, we are told, after dishonestly failing to notify her employers she had been convicted of benefit fraud.

That's right, they relied on someone convicted for dishonesty to own up honestly to her conviction.

At a Care Council for Wales Conduct Committee hearing in Cardiff, Claire Louise Proud was found guilty of misconduct for falsely declaring to her employees she had no unspent convictions, failing to inform the relevant bodies when she was convicted of benefit fraud, falsely informing the council she had completed her 200 hour community punishment order and for attending sessions of her community punishment order while she was claiming sickness absence from work without informing her employers.

She was employed by the council as a social worker between May 2004 and March 2008. In July 2006, she pleaded guilty to dishonestly failing to notify the DWP of a change of circumstances, which would have affected her entitlement to income support between June 2004, and February 2005.

She also failed to notify Rhondda Cynon Taff county borough council of a change in circumstances which would have affected her entitlement to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit between June 2004, and May 2005.

All this - the offending and the hearing - took place while she was employed by Blaenau Gwent council.

She was convicted of fraudulently claiming almost £6,000 and sentenced to a 200-hour community punishment order. This was later revoked and in February 2007 she was sentenced to a four-month curfew order when she had completed 27 and a half hours of her community punishment order.

Yet Ms Proud falsely declared on a Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure Application Form in July 2007 that she did not have any unspent criminal convictions. She was also found guilty of failing to inform her employers and the Care Council for Wales she had been convicted of benefit fraud.

On September 24, 2007 Ms Proud falsely stated in a letter to Blaenau Gwent council that she had completed the 200-hour community punishment order earlier that year when she had only undertaken 27 and a half hours. She also said she had undertaken the work on Saturdays when in fact the work had been completed on weekdays.

The committee was also told Ms Proud was on sick leave from working at Blaenau Gwent council between May 26, 2006 and September 3, 2006, and failed to notify her employers she was attending sessions of her community punishment order during that period!

All in all a sorry tale. It's utterly bizarre that the system relies on a criminal to confess her conviction to her employer, especially when she's in a role which requires trust and integrity. Presumably Blaenau Gwent council were satisfied with her performance in this position of trust all that time.

One wonders why.