By Bronagh Miskelly
The abolition of the General Social Care Council has sent shock waves through the sector. Many had predicted changes to the regulator's responsibilities but the government's decision to remove a body that has been an important plank of the social work reform process has left social work leaders "gobsmacked".
The GSCC has been far from perfect but in recent months it has seemed to overcome its growing pains and start to make real progress as a mature player in maintaining the professional standards of social work.
No longer was the conduct system struggling under the weight of a heavy backlog - and, indeed, the GSCC was looking forward to refining the system and the sanctions it imposes. Great strides have been made in the open assessment of university-based social work education with the publication of inspection reports for the first time and the GSCC has been a significant player in the work to implement the recommendations of the Social Work Task Force.
How exactly all this activity is carried forward under the umbrella of the Health Professions Council and what happens to the expertise built up by GSCC staff requires a lot more detail than the six paragraphs devoted to it in the Department of Health quango report.
We know the HPC operates a fitness-to-practise model which could help with the reforms of the social work conduct system. And while a registration fee of around £80 is more than social workers pay at present, it is a lot less than the figures bandied around for an independent GSCC. What we don't know is if that will come with a lower level of service.
In fact there is a great deal that it seems nobody knows at present - including the leadership of the revised HPC. The decision has an air of the cart before the horse. The change is happening so now the profession and the regulator have to work out how it will happen. Those negotiations must not throw away the best of the GSCC's legacy.
We need a social work regulation and registration system that builds on the work of the GSCC rather than starts from scratch. We need a transition period that recognises the expertise of GSCC staff and that the social care sector is not "just like health".
And finally we need to know what will happen to those of the GSCC's current functions that do not fit within the HPC's remit.
In short, there is much to be done if social work's professional development is to stay on course.
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