Wales moves to fitness to practise system for social workers, while England raises registration fees

Registration fees for social workers in England are to rise by £4 to £80 a year from September, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) has announced.

The HCPC said the increase was necessary because it had not upped its fees for four years and does not receive government funding for its day to day operations, unlike its predecessor the General Social Care Council.

It added that the increase is a below-inflation rise and that if the fee hike matched the rate of inflation the new fee would be £85.95 per year.

Social workers practising in England will pay the fee when they renew their HCPC registration for the next two years in this September.

The fee is the same regardless of whether people work full or part time, but newly qualified social workers receive a 50% discount for their first two years in the profession.

The fee can be spread, over the two-year registration period, into six-monthly direct debit payments.

The HCPC added that the fee is tax deductible for UK standard-rate taxpayers, which would reduce the cost by 20% to £64 a year.

Meanwhile, the Care Council for Wales’ new fitness to practise rules for social workers and social care workers accused of misconduct came into force yesterday.

The moves sees the Welsh regulator moving away from conduct hearings that assess whether registrants have committed misconduct and how to discipline them to hearings that judge whether they are fit to practise.

The change brings Wales into line with other health and social care regulators in the UK, including the HCPC.