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The General Social Care Council has confirmed there will be an annual fee linked to the registration of qualified social workers from next year, writes Clare Jerrom.

Deputy chief executive Mike Wardle said the council had consulted on a fee structure, and were looking at different levels of fee to reflect differing roles and responsibilities.

"We have also asked people what they would like to see to provide added value to registration," he told a conference in London celebrating the GSCCs first year.

The level of the fee has not been confirmed. Nurses currently pay £60 every three years for their registration, and doctors pay £290 a year.

The responsibility of the payment would rest with the worker, according to a GSCC spokesperson. However, organisations may look at paying the registration on behalf of the workers as a recruitment and retention initiative, she added.

The spokesperson acknowledged that whether registration would deter those people wanting to work for a short period in the year, such as three months, was an "interesting debate".

Workers who remained in the sector but moved jobs would take their registration with them, she added.

Wardle suggested re-registration may occur every three years, and workers would have to prove continuing professional development in order to be re-registered.

Whether re-registration will require social workers to face another criminal records check has not yet been decided. "It is one of the important decisions facing the council in relation to re-registration," the spokesperson said.