Nearly one in 10 have conviction

Almost 6,000 social workers have declared criminal convictions in
their applications for registration, the General Social Care
Council has revealed.

Following a freedom of information request by a social worker, the
GSCC disclosed that almost 9 per cent of the 68,000-plus applicants
had declared criminal offences, as of 4 August.

But a spokesperson for the regulator said: “We are talking largely
about minor traffic offences.” The disclosure said 70 social
workers had so far been denied registration.

The GSCC is receiving around 250 applications a week. A minority
are from people who were working but were not registered when
protection of title came into force on 1 April.