General Social Care Council

The General Social Care Council (GSCC) is a the regulator of social workers and social work students in England. The GSCC protects the public by requiring high standards of education, conduct and practice of social workers by ensuring that only those who are properly trained and committed to high standards practice social work.

The GSCC is an Arm's Length Body sponsored by the UK Department of Health. It has three sister organisations which have similar responsibilities in the other parts of the United Kingdom; these are the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), the Care Council for Wales (in Welsh: Cyngor Gofal Cymru) (CCW or CGC), and the Northern Ireland Social Care Council.

The GSCC was set up in 2001 further to the Care Standards Act 2000, which was enacted partly in response to criticisms in the late 1990s of social services in Britain, in particular the high-profile case of Victoria Climbié, a young girl who was abused and eventually killed by her relatives in north London despite having been known to local social services. The GSCC inherited the mantle of the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work (CCETSW), a previous body which had responsibility solely for managing and funding Social Work education. The GSCC was given a broader remit to take a lead not only in education but in the strategic development and promotion of the whole social care sector in Britain.

A major responsibility of the GSCC and other councils is the maintenance of a professional register of social workers. From 1 April 2005 it became a criminal offence to use the title 'social worker' without proper qualifications and without being registered with the GSCC. Social workers are required to renew their registration every three years, and to undertake a certain amount of professional training and learning during each three-year registration period. In this way the GSCC hopes to raise the standards and reputation of the social work profession in England.

The Chair of the General Social Care Council is Rosie Varley, and its Chief Executive is Penny Thompson.

Anyone can check the register of social workers by visiting this page : "Check the register"

It was announced in July 2010, following the Department of Health’s arm’s length body review, that the GSCC’s functions would be transferred to the Health Professions Council (HPC) from April 2012, in order to reduce the number and cost of publicly funded organisations.