General Social Care Council
Protecting the public by requiring high standards of professional education, conduct and practice of all social workers
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Transfer of GSCC's functions to the Health Professions Council (HPC)
In July 2010 the Government announced that the GSCC is to close and that its regulatory functions are to be transferred to the Health Professions Council (HPC). The following message from our Chief Executive is to GSCC registrants.
We have also produced a frequently asked questions (FAQs) section to answer any queries and have issued a press release to the media.
Dear Registrant,
This message aims to give you some further details about the Government’s decision to close the General Social Care Council (GSCC) and transfer its regulatory functions to the Health Professions Council (HPC).
As part of a review of arm’s length bodies (ALBs) in July 2010, the Government announced its intention to close the GSCC and transfer its regulatory functions to the Health Professions Council. To reflect this new remit, the HPC’s name will change to the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
This change is contained within the Health and Social Care Bill currently going through Parliament. It is expected this Bill will become law in spring 2012 and that the transfer will take place on 31 July 2012.
In the short to medium term this will have no impact on your dealings with us. Social work is, and will remain, a regulated profession. You are still required to register, pay your annual fee, renew registration and complete post-registration training and learning as usual – however I understand that you may have more questions. We have sought to answer these in a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) on our website.
Regardless of where responsibility for the regulation of social workers sits in the future, regulation will continue to be the hallmark of a valued profession; it is what puts social workers on par with the other professionals they work beside. Regulation is also a crucial public safeguard that helps to give the public trust and confidence in the work of social work professionals.
Our final year will present many challenges, but we remain committed to delivering the challenging reform agenda. We are as clear as ever of the need to sustain our public protection work, to build public confidence in regulation and social workers, and advance the professionalisation of social work.
We will also continue to work in partnership with the Department of Health and the HPC to ensure that the transfer of our regulatory functions is as efficient and effective as possible and we are also committed to ensuring that GSCC staff get the support they need as they consider the next stage in their careers.
Social Work Connections, our quarterly e-newsletter for registrants, will contain further news about these developments as they progress. We email this to all registrants but if you do not receive it for any reason, you can subscribe to the newsletter.
Yours,
Penny Thompson
Chief Executive
General Social Care Council
Comments
Show3 comments so far
Karen Freedman
17 Jan 2011 at 11:15am
From an employers point of view, I think it's good news. With the HPC website we can check that Social Workers keep their registration current and it gives an expiry date to renew their membership, the GSCC only gives us the start date. The employer can check before we hire the S.W. to see if their status is current and that they are not a risk for us to employ.
Adris Ali
4 Jan 2011 at 5:16pm
How can we possibly expect the same standard of service from a body which has never regulated SW before? If amalgamation between the two bodies means the GSCC can still function as an autonomous body then fair enough, if not, then I think this is a serious blow to the social work profession and a disgrace.
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NK
22 Nov 2011 at 8:58pm
What is the position of practitioners working as Unqualified Social Workers under the new system.