Estimated 20,000 social workers yet to register as deadline looms

Half of English councils have 90 per cent of their social workers
yet to register – with the deadline just six weeks away,
according to figures released at the National Social Services
Conference this week, writes Clare Jerrom in
Newcastle.

All social workers should apply to be registered with the
General Social Care Council by 1 December, but figures show that
just five councils have more than three quarters of their social
workers registered.

A further 15 councils have almost 75 per cent of their social
workers in the process of being registered but the GSCC estimates
there are still 20,000 applications due in from social workers in
frontline roles.

There are 110 councils who have less than a quarter of their
social workers in the registration process. The GSCC is working
with those authorities to help them tackle and barriers that could
be holding up registration.

“We appreciate that this will take a huge effort by social
workers and their employers,” said Lynne Berry, chief executive of
the GSCC. “But the example of these leading authorities shows that
a fully registered workforce is achievable now.”

The authorities leading the way in the registration process are
Hartlepool, Isle of Wight, Leicestershire, Somerset and
Wokingham.

Employers and managers will need to ensure all social workers
are registered before the legal deadline of 1 April 2005 to avoid
repercussions for employment and service delivery.