Press Release

Employer loophole could leave social care users at risk, says GSCC

August 27 2009

People who use social care services could be put at risk by a loophole which would mean local authorities and employment agencies would not be required to run the necessary checks on social workers, according to the General Social Care Council (GSCC).

Responding to the Care Quality Commission's (CQC) consultation on the criteria for compliance with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, the GSCC welcomed the inclusion of the Code of Practice for Employers of Social Care Workers in the proposed regulations. This follows the recommendation from Lord Laming that the code becomes mandatory which was accepted by government.

As a result, CQC registered agencies will be required to carry out checks into workers' background and ensure they are suitably registered for their role. They would also be compelled to follow the code including informing the GSCC of misconduct and helping workers abide by the Code of Practice for Social Care Workers.

However, whilst this would catch most care workers, it would miss the majority of social workers as the regulations do not cover local authorities or employment agencies which are the major employers of social workers.

Local authorities are inspected through a Comprehensive Area Assessment, led by the Audit Commission, which assesses broadly how well local public services are delivered but will not assess detail such as whether checks have been made on staff. Inspections by Ofsted, which contribute to the Comprehensive Area Assessment, will cover children and families social workers and the GSCC will be in discussion with Ofsted to explore how inspections can support compliance with the code of practice for employers.

The exclusion of employment agencies is of particular concern as the government is also planning to relax other requirements overseen by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (DBIS) that require agencies to vet workers before supplying them.

Rosie Varley, Chair of the GSCC, said: "People who use services need to be confident that their social worker is trained, qualified and checked by the General Social Care Council. That assurance cannot be given unless all employers of social workers – including recruitment agencies – are subject to an inspection regime which requires them to do the necessary checks.

We are delighted that Lord Laming endorsed our recommendation that the Code of Practice for Social Care Employers becomes mandatory and that this was accepted by government, and the CQC regulations are a welcome first step in implementing this. That said, there are still significant gaps in coverage since local authorities and employment agencies are not covered.

We therefore urge the government to reassess this situation and to work with us to put in place a regulatory regime for employers of social workers which helps to prevent the small minority of unsuitable social workers from working in social care."

Last year, the GSCC highlighted the case of Christopher Nwokoro – a social worker who gained employment via agencies in three local authorities despite not being registered and supplying false references.