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“The issue of qualifications has been so contentious to registration that two delegates had to be pulled apart at a workshop on residential child care because the debate became so heated”, said Geraldine Doherty, registrar with the Scottish Social Services Council, writes Keith Sellick in Edinburgh.

Doherty was telling delegates at a session on registration at Community Care Live Scotland that conduct, good character and competence were accepted as key to registering social services staff. However, what qualifications would be acceptable and who pays for the fees had caused debate.

Staff pay £13.60 for police checks and £30 for the annual registration fee. Some councils have paid £13.60 fpr police checks but it is for employers to decide.

She also stressed that employers’ responsibilities under the code of practice were to all staff and not just those registered. The recent Borders inquiry had shown that the council had not carried out some of their responsibilities under the code, which the Scottish executive may make compulsory on councils, she added.

But she said that the process had been more straight forward  than in England. The small size of the workforce had meant that there was more face-to-face contact and support from bodies such as BASW and Unison, she added.