The long-awaited General Social Care Council, the first ever regulatory body for the social care profession in England, started work on 1 October 2001.
Regulating a workforce of 1million people working for 25,000 employers throughout England – two thirds of whom are in the private and voluntary sectors – the aim of the new body is to raise standards in social care, protect the public who use social services, and improve the profile of the profession.
Led by Chief Executive Lynne Berry and interim Chair Baroness Jill Pitkeathley, the new body’s first task will be to consult on a codes of practice for social workers and social carers and employers. Over the next few years the GSCC will set up a register of the workforce. Ultimately, the Council will have powers to strike workers off the register for malpractice.
Ms Berry said the establishment of the GSCC, and its counterparts in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, was the most significant investment in the social care world for over 30 years.
She said: “This is a hugely exciting development which ultimately will provide some real protection for the millions of people who rely on social services, by keeping unsuitable people out of the workforce and enhancing the image of social care workers by giving them a professional body and a champion.
“Social workers and social carers are in a unique position of trust in our society. Often they work in the homes of vulnerable people, or they are the only protection for thousands of children against abuse. The GSCC wants to give proper recognition to the dedicated social workers and social carers who day-in, day-out justify that trust by saving lives, preventing abuse, or simply by delivering highly-valued, life-sustaining services to people who need some extra support to live independent lives.
“There have been failures over the years when social care workers have not done this, or have perpetrated the abuse themselves. GSCC will not flinch from rooting out bad practice and keeping unsuitable people out of the profession. Ultimately, this will not only benefit the public but it will benefit the profession too.”
Ms Berry, formerly Chief Executive of the Equal Opportunity Commission, said: “We have an enormous agenda of work ahead of us, and we’re as keen as anyone to get cracking on that agenda. But we’ve also got to get it right. We must have processes which are transparent, fair, and consistent. So the register won’t materialise overnight. But we have already started work on planning it, and we are well placed to continue the regulation of training and education of the workforce. We are going to work closely with the Department of Health and others on the development of a degree in social work by 2003, which we believe will help enhance the status and training of the profession.”
Notes
The General Social Care was established under the Care Standards Act 2000
Equivalent bodies exist in the rest of the UK: the Northern Ireland Social Care Council; the Scottish Social Services Council; and the Care Council for Wales. These also start work on 1 October.
The GSCC will regulate the workforce. The National Care Standards Commission will regulate social care providers and monitor the implementation of the code of practice. The NCSC starts work in April.
The Council has 14 members and a majority lay membership