A three-month consultation has been launched by the newly-formed General Social Care Council on the rules for the registration and deregistration of social care workers.

The consultation will run from 24 June until 9 September. The GSCC will be seeking views and advice from other professional workforce regulators as well as key stakeholders and the wider social care sector during this period.

The General Social Care Council was set up in October 2001 to establish a register of social care workers in England, produce codes of practice for social care workers and employers, and regulate social work training. Equivalent bodies were set up in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, where parallel consultations will also be held.

The aim of the GSCC is to provide public protection, promote public confidence in the sector, and champion the cause of social care. Codes of practice are nearing completion, and working is continuing on procuring the IT system which will run the register, which is due to open in spring 2003.

The rules for registration and the rules for conduct hearings are legal documents setting out how social care workers can join the register and the process for being suspended or deregistered.

It will take several years to register all of the estimated 1.2million social care workers in England. Registration will begin in 2003 with qualified social workers.

Chair of the GSCC, Rodney Brooke, said: “Many people are amazed when they realise that there is currently no register of social care workers or a national mechanism for keeping unsuitable people out of the profession. It is especially important now, as the public begins to recognise what an important and difficult job social care workers do, and how much society relies on them to do it well.”

The rules are available to download from the Internet at www.gscc.org.uk or by calling 020 7397 5800.

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Lorna Shearman (020) 7397 5830
24 June 2002 gscc011/02

Note for editors: The General Social Care Council came into being on 1 October 2001. It was set up in England under the Care Standards Act 2000 to establish codes of conduct and practice for social care workers and employers, to set up a register of social care workers and to regulate social work education and training. Similar bodies exist in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.