§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will require the General Social Care Council to develop an interim register that covers all unqualified social care workers employed by local authorities and in the independent sector. [185]
§ Jacqui SmithThe General Social Care Council (GSCC) will register social care workers who hold the appropriate level of qualification for the job that they do, and who satisfy the requirements as to conduct and competence. Registration will begin with social workers, most of whom ate qualified. Other early groups for registration will be residential child care workers and managers of care homes. The GSCC will set out the timescales for registering the remainder of the workforce.
The GSCC will publish codes of practice for social care workers and other employers. All social care workers will be expected to abide by these codes, whether or not they are registered with the GSCC.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what role the General Social Care Council will play in regulating health support workers. [186]
§ Jacqui SmithThe General Social Care Council (GSCC) will be responsible for regulating social care workers. There are no plans for it to regulate health support workers. The social care workforce in England comprises over a million workers, and the GSCC will concentrate on introducing regulation in this new area.