The General Social Care Council (GSCC) exists to raise standards across the whole social care workforce. We have published national codes of practice and brought social workers and student social workers into the GSCC Social Care Register. We are now working towards the registration of the next group in the workforce, those working in domiciliary care services and their managers. We welcome this next step as part of the drive to develop a confident and competent workforce for the 21st century.
The GSCC started working towards the registration of further groups of social care workers in 2006. An extensive consultation took place to find out which groups should be next in line to join the Social Care Register. The consultation demonstrated widespread support for extending the benefits of registration to more social care workers and, in turn, users of care services.
The results of the consultation shaped the GSCC’s thinking and the subsequent recommendations to Government. On 15 February 2007, at the GSCC’s annual conference, Ivan Lewis MP, Minister for Care Services, announced that registration would initially open to domiciliary care workers and their managers working in England. The Government also made it clear that it intends - over time – to ask the GSCC to register other groups of social care workers, such as those in residential care settings.
Domiciliary care workers are mostly unsupervised and have a high level of contact with service users in their own homes. The GSCC can make the biggest difference to quality, standards and protection with this group. These factors were central to the decision to start registration of this group before any others.
Registration will prevent unsuitable people being retained in the workforce. It will also enable the GSCC to raise standards of care by promoting and facilitating ongoing training and learning, and enforcing accountability and compliance with The Code of Practice for Social Care Workers.
It is estimated that over 200,000 people work in domiciliary care in England. It will take time to work with the sector to make sure that registration is implemented effectively. Registration of this group could take two to three years from start to finish, and it is possible that we will open registration to other groups during this time frame.
The costs of registration will be met through a balance between a contribution from Government and individual registrants’ contributions. The Government has announced that the fee level for domiciliary care workers will be £20 a year. This is lower than what is charged by many other workforce regulators and takes account of the lower rates of pay that currently exist in the social care sector.
Please rest assured that we will make sure you and your employers have the full details of registration before it starts in earnest. There is no need for you to do anything at this time. We are now embarking on a period of intensive planning and development work, involving all key stakeholders, so that registration is taken forward in the right way.