Council proposes priority groups

Children’s home and domiciliary care staff would be the next groups to face compulsory registration, under recommendations to ministers from the General Social Care Council.

The GSCC said they should have top priority among the 750,000 residential and home care staff due to be registered from 2007, ahead of employees in care homes, fostering and adoption agencies and residential family centres.

Following a consultation, the GSCC has lowered proposed registration fees from £20-30 a year to £15 annually, to address concerns the cost would be too much for low-paid staff.

Staff would need to re-register after six years, during which those without a relevant qualification would need to get one while the already qualified would have to do 30 days’ training.