Social Care Body Seeks More Sway

The General Social Care Council wants to enforce a code of conduct for employers of social workers.

With the publication of Lord Laming’s review into safeguarding imminent and the Social Work Taskforce investigating the training, leadership and recruitment of social workers, the General Social Care Council (GSCC) is now in the spotlight.

Still a relatively new body, the council was established in 2003 to register and regulate all social workers and social work students. But, unlike its fellow body the General Medical Council, the GSCC was not informed of the Baby P case until news of the trial hit the headlines.

Although the organisation has a compulsory code of practice for social workers, a similar code for employers of social workers is not mandatory. There is no compulsory duty for employers to alert the GSCC when social workers breach their own code. Moreover, a recent poll in the council’s newsletter found more than 20 per cent of employers are not making social workers aware of their need to abide by their compulsory code of practice.

Statutory employers’ code

This is why the GSCC is recommending that the government give the employers’ code statutory force. This code sets out the responsibilities of the employer, which covers matters such as managing and supervising staff and providing induction and training.

Robin Weekes, head of conduct at the GSCC, says that making the employers’ code a legal requirement would put it on the same footing as that of social workers. “Social workers need a system where, if they think their employer is not performing their duties correctly, such as induction and training, they can safely report this,” he explains. “As the regulatory body, developing standards of practice and training is a requirement and we need to make our own decisions about misconduct, which may differ from those of the local authority.”

But Andrew Webb, director of children’s services at Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, says more regulation is unnecessary. “I think local authorities should determine issues concerning the practices of their own social workers. Only if the authority is concerned should they refer it to the GSCC,” he says.

No change needed

One reason for this is that when a child dies and abuse or neglect is suspected, there are already several places to report it. “This is as it should be because systems need to be looked at, but we should leave it at that. If we link child deaths automatically with the conduct of social workers we are presuming fault and we are almost getting into a witchhunt area,” he says. “In my position, I expect to be held to account. Local authorities are taken to task through grievance and employment tribunals if they fail to meet their duty.”

In contrast, Nushra Mansuri, professional officer at the British Association of Social Workers, thinks a statutory duty would improve the culture in the workforce. “If something goes wrong social workers can be found culpable and serious sanctions imposed, but if an employer is negligent in their duties the same framework is not in place. By giving the code more teeth it would send out a much better message.”

HOW THE REGULATORS FOR DIFFERENT PROFESSIONS COMPARE

Social work – General Social Care Council

* The General Social Care Council (GSCC) was created in 2003

* Everyone who is legally allowed to work as a social worker is on the social care register. The council assesses applications to ensure applicants meet the criteria required to perform the role of a social worker. Once they join, they must agree to abide by the code of practice for social workers.

* The GSCC also has a code of practice for the employers of social workers. This sets out their responsibilities, which includes co-operating with the GSCC’s proceedings. However, the employers’ code is not mandatory – something the GSCC wants to change

* In the year ending 31 March 2008, the body received 503 allegations about registered social workers and social work students, representing less than one per cent of the registered workforce

Teaching – General Teaching Council

* The General Teaching Council (GTC) was created in 2000.

* Most disciplinary referrals to the GTC arise from the requirement upon employers to refer cases where teachers are dismissed for reasons of misconduct or incompetence, or if they resign in situations where dismissal was a possibility.

* For referrals about incompetence, the employer is required to make a referral directly to the GTC. Employers must now refer cases with a child protection element to the Independent Safeguarding Authority. Cases of possible teacher misconduct that do not have a child protection element come direct to the GTC.

* From its inception up to the end of December 2008, the GTC had received 682 referrals from employers relating to conduct issues and 155 related to competence

Doctors – General Medical Council

* The General Medical Council (GMC) was created in 1858.

* The GMC is the independent regulator for doctors in the UK. All doctors have to be registered with the council in order to practice in the United Kingdom. Although the code of practice for doctors is not legally binding, if it is not followed then the GMC can de-register a doctor and therefore they can no longer practise.

* The council receives complaints from members of the public, employers, other doctors or people acting on behalf of a public organisation, such as nurses or police officers.

* The most recent figures show that in 2007, the council received 862 referrals from people acting in a public capacity, which includes other doctors and employers, and 4,306 referrals from members of the public.