Loss of GSCC could weaken professional voice, warns BASW

The GSCC is to be scrapped by April 2012 and responsibility for regulating social workers will transfer to the Health Professions Council (HPC). This follows a review of the Department of Health’s arm’s length bodies, designed to cut costs.

But Nushra Mansuri, professional officer at BASW, told CYP Now that the loss of the GSCC could make it harder for children and families’ social workers to maintain a strong professional voice.

"There is sadness to see the institution set up for social workers being usurped by the health regulator," she said. "It begs the question of what exactly that is going to mean for social workers."

Mansuri added that the creation of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the regulator for health and social care services, posed many challenges for the profession, some of which could be repeated when the GSCC is absorbed into the HPC.

"There were difficulties with merging health and social care with CQC," she explained. "We need to learn lessons from that."

Matt Dunkley, vice-president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, argued that the scrapping of the GSCC makes the establishment of the National College of Social Work even more urgent.

But he said the loss of the GSCC could be tolerable, if the cash saved by such a move is reinvested into the ongoing programme of social work reforms.

"If the changes announced this week free up resources to invest in the wider reforms to build a more confident and skilled profession then they must be welcomed," he explained.

"As important, if not more so, than getting regulation right, is that the reforms and investment recommended by the social work taskforce are fully implemented."

But Roger Kline, social care officer at children's services union Aspect, warned that the abolition of the GSCC could pose big problems to the sector.

"It's hard enough to push through the social work reforms," he said. "We could really do without this. The HPC has no experience of dealing with social work."

He added that the HPC would find it harder to make decisions on the misconduct of social workers than it would health professionals, since social work is based on relationships rather than scientific facts.

"The challenges of regulating social work are very different," he explained. "Especially post Baby P."