The General Social Care Council welcomes the Government’s announcement, consulting the sector on proposed timings for registration becoming compulsory for social workers. The proposal is that the legal restriction, protection of title, should be introduced in April 2005. This change would mean that registration with the GSCC or one of the other care councils in the UK will be mandatory in order for someone to call themselves a social worker after this time.
GSCC Chair Rodney Brooke said:
“Registration will transform the sector, driving up standards and the reputation of social workers. The register opened in April and by next year, every qualified social worker will have been invited to join. It’s time to consider when we should take registration to the next level and put it on a legal footing. We welcome the Government’s consultation on the exact timing of this vital step.
“Obviously it will not be possible to register all 60,000 social workers in one go, so we’re urging everyone to apply as early as possible before the legal restriction comes in.”
Protection of title will mean that only registered social workers will be able to describe themselves as social workers. Calling yourself a social worker with intent to deceive will become a criminal offence.
Social workers will need to be qualified and sign up to the codes of practice to be registered and the GSCC will check there is no reason why they are not fit to be in the workforce. The GSCC will be able to take action against registered social workers who commit misconduct and, in serious cases, will be able to remove them from the workforce as social workers.
Registration is about commitment to high standards of service and our research shows this is supported by both the workforce and the public. Employers should provide a lead and encouragement to help their staff apply for registration before protection of title is introduced. Organisations employing qualified social workers have been given a slot in a schedule to assist their staff with registration. Independent social workers and those not working at the moment are being invited to register through adverts in late 2003.
Questions and Answers
What does protection of title mean?
This is a legal restriction that would be introduced by the Government. It would mean the title of ‘social worker’ would be protected. People would not be able to call themselves a ‘social worker’ with intent to deceive unless they had up-to-date registration with the GSCC or one of the other councils in the UK.
What is the GSCC’s preferred timing for its introduction?
Today sees the start of a consultation on whether it should be introduced in April 2005. The GSCC looks forward to hearing the views of the sector, including service users and service providers. Our priority is to ensure that we offer every qualified social worker in England an opportunity to register before the legal restriction comes in.
Will GSCC be capable of registering all qualified social workers before then?
Yes, we will ensure that everyone has an opportunity to register before it comes into force. We are working to a schedule, with the aim of generating a steady stream of applications for us to process and register. We estimate there are around 60,000 people eligible, however, and obviously these could not all be registered in the last few weeks if everyone leaves it to the last minute. Everyone should apply when they are invited to ensure they are not affected by the legal restriction.
Is registration compulsory?
Protection of title will in effect make registration compulsory, as it will be a criminal offence for someone to call themselves a social worker with intent to deceive unless they are registered. As it won’t be possible to register everyone eligible in the last few weeks before the legal restriction is introduced, we are urging everyone to register as soon as they are invited to do so.
Even without this legal restriction, registration is a positive development for social workers, their employers and, most importantly, people dependent on their services. Registration is part of the transformation of the social care workforce for the public benefit. It will help promote higher standards of care and public protection. Registration will highlight the contribution social workers make and raise the status of the profession, putting it on a similar footing to other professions such as nursing and teaching. It will demonstrate social workers’ commitment to high standards, confirm qualified status and raise professional status. There are benefits for employers in demonstrating their commitment both to their workforce and to the quality of care they are delivering to service users.
What about the rest of the UK?
Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland have their own councils and the relevant administrations in those countries will take the decisions about when to introduce protection of title and to cover which roles. When protection of title is introduced in England, a social worker working in England will need to be registered with the GSCC or one of the other councils in the UK.
consultationonPoT.pdf