Spare a thought for the General Social Care Council's staff. Not only are they dealing with the announcement that the GSCC is being scrapped as of next April, but they also have to manage tens of thousands of applications from social workers looking to renew their registration.

The regulator received no fewer than 9,000 renewal applications in January and expects thousands more this month. Teams are working at full capacity and the GSCC has hired temporary staff to make sure the process runs smoothly.

Currently, despite the high volume, applications are still being processed within the normal time of three weeks. But the processing time is expected to increase this month; see the GSCC's website for more info.

Social workers are required to renew their registration with the GSCC every three years. Your renewal forms must reach the regulator before your registration expires, or you could be removed from the register.

Finally, a quick message from Gail Gibson, the GSCC's head of registration:

"If you have completed your form and sent it to us on time, and your name continues to show on our register, you are absolutely fine to continue working. We will notify you that we have received your application, but please don't panic if you do not hear from us immediately. We are dealing with a very large number of applications and will contact you as quickly as possible."

Photo by Chris Robbins/Mood Board/Rex Features

Read the complete post at http://www.communitycare.co.uk/blogs/social-work-blog/2011/02/gscc-staff-race-to-renew-socia.html