Fears over social care body’s future

Fears that the future of the General Social Care Council may be
under threat have been raised by the president of the Association
of Directors of Social Services.

The Department of Health is carrying out a review of about 40
arms-length bodies with a view to reducing or amalgamating their
number.

Andrew Cozens said he was concerned about the possibility that the
GSCC, which came into being in 2001, would be merged with a health
equivalent. Regulation issues were very different in the health
sector, he added.

The Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Social Care
Institute of Excellence are other bodies on the DoH’s list that
could be destabilised by the review.