I have been asked if I am surprised that more than 8,000 social workers have chosen not to register with the profession’s new regulatory body, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Truth is I am surprised, surprised that only 8,000 have chosen not to register with the HCPC – I expected the number to be much higher. 

One of the reasons for this response is that we don’t know exactly how many of the 80,000 who have transferred to the HCPC are in posts that carry the title ‘social worker’. My guess is that a substantial minority are not in such posts and those people could have decided not to renew. I think the HCPC is probably aware of this so they should be fairly pleased with the 90% renewal rate.

The fact is that there has never been any definitive data about how many of those registered with the HCPC’s predecessor, the General Social Care Council (GSCC), were in posts which required registration under the provisions of the “protection of title regulations”. Those regulations say that it is a criminal offence to describe yourself as a social worker unless you are registered. For many GSCC registrants in non-practising roles – for example, those in senior management posts or in policy or teaching roles – the regulations did not apply but they still chose to register anyway.

There were many reasons for this ‘voluntary’ registration.  Some employers required registration even for posts that did not carry the title social worker. Some people who were not  in social work roles kept their registration live in case they moved back into practising social work. Some who were in senior roles, or had retired, chose to be registered as a mark of their pride in being part of the profession. There was no reliable way of working out which of the GSCC’s registrants were ‘compulsory’ and which were ‘voluntary’. 

I don’t think many people believe there are 80,000 social workers currently practising in England in roles that require registration. The fact that so many have decided to confirm registration with the HCPC – and agreed to pay the £76 per annum fee (a taxpayer-subsidised £30 was what GSCC charged) – suggests that the HCPC has done a good job in persuading the wider profession that it is going to help us to maintain high standards in social work practice.

Excellence in professional standards is what all social workers should be striving for.

 Owen Davies is public affairs adviser at The College of Social Work and was formerly head of policy and research at The General Social Care Council.