The chair of the General Social Care Council has called on social work agencies to share information to help it act where practitioners have committed misconduct.
Rosie Varley told the GSCC's annual reception at the House of Lords that social work agencies did not routinely share information.
"With this information, we could swiftly establish whether any individual has committed misconduct and take action where needed to safeguard standards and protect the public," she said.
Statutory code of practice
"If there is one message that comes out most strongly from the various inquiries into regulatory failures in health and social care, it is the need for information that is available to be shared and acted upon."
Varley added that the GSCC would advise the Social Work Taskforce that the code of practice for employers was put on a statutory footing, and was also reviewing its powers to strengthen the inspection of degree courses.
Children's minister Ed Balls said the public's understanding of the role of social workers was underestimated. It had been "a difficult and traumatic time" for social workers, he added, and it was a "tranformational time for child protection and social workers".