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Social workers at Hampshire council and children’s charities Barnardo’s and the NSPCC, are the first employees to be eligible to register with the new social care register, writes Derren Hayes.

The register is only open to social workers to begin with, but the General Social Care Council, which is running the register, hopes to get all 1.5 million care workers registered over the next decade.

Initially, starting on a voluntary basis, the GSCC hopes it will be a statutory requirement for social workers to be registered by 2005. Until then, it is banking on social workers coming forward and paying the annual £30 registration fee out of professional pride.

David Behan, director of social services at Greenwich council and chairperson of the Association of Directors of Social Services, said the register needed to be voluntary until a "critical mass" of social workers had been registered.

Greenwich is considering paying the registration fees of existing employees over the next two years to encourage them to register, and Behan said that from a given date in the future new workers would need to be registered to be considered for jobs.

Terry Butler, director of social services at Hampshire council, echoed the views of most directors in welcoming the move.

"In addition to giving the public the reassurances they need, it will also help to improve the standing of the profession, putting social workers on a par with nurses, doctors and other professionals," he added.