1,100 workers were questioned for the survey, 54% of whom said that they have been left with a workload which is “unmanageable”.

Five years after the controversial death of Baby P after failings in the social care system, the BASW has concluded that care services in the UK are still “at breaking point”.

BASW chief executive Hilton Dawson told the BBC, "Despite political pledges to protect front-line services, government cuts have left social workers drowning in paperwork, acting as receptionists and even cleaning toilets, instead of working to prevent further tragedies.

"The government pledged in 2010 to protect front-line social workers, yet by axing support staff they have turned social workers into glorified typists.

"Social workers are facing an administrative overload and as a result are spending less and less time with vulnerable children and adults. Caseloads are quite simply unmanageable, posing imminent and serious risks to the people who need services.”

The government said that the cuts are there to simply remove red tape from the sector, allowing social workers to get on with their jobs.

A statement from the Department for Education said, “We're investing £4bn nationally over two years in children's services and we've given local authorities complete freedom over their budgets so they can target children most at risk and protect them from harm.

"It is a false economy for councils not to make this a priority because society will pay much more further down the line if children don't get the support they need as early as possible."