Subordinate Legislation
Registration of Social Workers and Social Service Workers in Care Services (Scotland) Regulations 2013 [Draft]
Good morning and welcome to the Health and Sport Committee’s 22nd meeting in 2013. As usual, I remind all those present to switch off mobile phones and BlackBerrys, as they can often interfere with the sound system. Some members and officials are using iPads instead of having hard copies of committee papers.
Agenda item 1 is evidence on the draft Registration of Social Workers and Social Service Workers in Care Services (Scotland) Regulations 2013. I welcome for the first time to the committee the Minister for Children and Young People, Aileen Campbell, who is accompanied by Diane White, senior policy officer, and Roddy Flinn, senior principal legal officer. I invite the minister to make an opening statement.
Thank you for the opportunity to introduce the draft regulations, which will be made under the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010. The draft regulations largely replicate processes that have been in place since March 2009 and are a consolidation of three sets of regulations that are in force, which require social service workers to register with the Scottish Social Services Council in order to work in the sector. The three existing sets of regulations set dates by which all existing workers who are working in services that are within the scope of registration must achieve registration; introduce the requirement that workers who are employed for the first time in specific groups must achieve registration within six months of commencing employment; and create an offence if service providers fail to comply with the requirements of the regulations.
The consolidation of the three sets of regulations into the draft regulations that are before the committee simplifies the application of the regulations and makes them clearer and more concise. The consolidation exercise provided the opportunity to amend the provisions and introduce a new provision on the regulation of the social services workforce. The provisions will be amended to widen the requirement to achieve registration within six months of commencement of employment to all workers within the current scope of registration and to provide the SSSC with a statutory power that relates specifically to the registration of workers who are employed in day care of children services that are provided on a seasonal basis—for example, summer play schemes.
I will deal with each of those changes separately. First, on amending the provisions to widen the requirement to register to all new workers, when the original regulations were introduced in March 2009 in response to concerns raised by the sector, the requirement for new workers to register within six months of commencing employment was applied only to a limited number of workers. Subsequent regulation placed the requirement on further groups.
However, when we agreed to progress with a limited number of groups in the first instance, it was made clear that the requirement would be placed on all the groups as soon as reasonably possible. The draft regulations provide that all new workers who commence employment in any of the groups within the scope of registration must achieve registration within six months of commencement of employment. That provision will ensure that registration with the SSSC becomes a matter of course for all new workers in the sector.
On the second change, when the registration of workers in day care of children services commenced, the SSSC received representation from providers whose service was provided on a seasonal basis—for example, the summer play schemes that I mentioned—that the standard approach to registration would be disproportionate for their workers. [Interruption.]
The SSSC held discussions with the sector and then consulted on a proportionate approach to the registration of workers who are employed in a seasonal service, and it received a favourable response from the sector. The consultation on the draft regulations asked for comments on the proposed proportionate approach to legislation, and the majority of responses agreed with the proposals. The provision in the draft regulations will provide the SSSC with the statutory power to register workers in day care of children services provided on a seasonal basis in a proportionate manner, which recognises the uniqueness of that service provision.
The draft regulations will maintain and fulfil the policy intention that registration with the SSSC is a prerequisite of employment and continuing employment. The consolidation will simplify the application of the regulations and make it clear that the requirement to achieve registration within six months of commencement of employment applies to all workers within the current scope of registration. It will also provide the SSSC with the authority to take a proportionate approach to registration for workers who are employed in services provided on a seasonal basis.
Convener, I am happy to take any questions that you or the committee might have.
I notice that the annual registration fee will be paid by individual workers. What will the fee be? Will it have any impact on recruitment levels?
The registration fees have always been set in a proportionate way that recognises workers’ salaries. The need to be mindful of workers’ finances has always been taken into account. Diane White can say more.
Diane White (Scottish Government)
For managers and social workers, the registration fee is £30; for practitioners and supervisors, it is £20; for support workers, it is £15; and for social work degree students, it is £10. It is an annual fee.
I hope that the fees will not be uprated.
Good morning, minister. How many people will the regulations affect? If someone does not achieve registration in the allotted time, what will happen?
Thank you for your questions. We want to ensure that a sufficient timescale is provided to give people the opportunity to achieve the required registration. There will be a grace period.
Diane White might be able to say how many people will be affected.
There are about 58,000 people on the SSSC’s register. By the time that the first two phases of expanding the scope of registration have been completed, about 140,000 workers who are involved in social services will be registered with the SSSC. That will happen by 2020.
But there is a grace period to allow folk to work towards achieving registration.
Yes, there is. People who do not have the qualification can register, subject to the condition that they will work towards obtaining it. They must apply for registration within six months. They can achieve registration if they satisfy the conduct and character criteria, following which the SSSC can impose a time limit for achieving the qualification.
I have two issues to raise briefly. The first is about the length of time that it takes to register. I am thinking about people who might register over the summer. Will their ability to work be delayed while the registration process goes on? How long might it take?
My second point is about the nature of registration. Does it relate only to a single period of employment? If a student were to register for work over the summer, which is quite a brief period, would they have to go through the process again the next time that they wanted to take up such work?
I take it that you are referring to seasonality.
Yes.
There is provision to reflect seasonality and be proportionate, so someone who works for just one summer will not have to register, but a person who engages in more regular seasonal work will be required to work towards becoming registered.
As committee members have no further questions, we move to item 2, which is the formal debate on the affirmative instrument on which we have just taken evidence. I remind members that they cannot put further questions to the minister and I remind the officials that they cannot participate in the debate.
I invite the minister to move motion—[Interruption.] I am sorry—[Interruption.] I should have asked members whether they would like to participate in the debate. That is where I went wrong; I was trying to get through things too quickly. Does any member wish to participate in the debate? As no one does, I invite the minister to move motion S4M-07083.
Motion moved,
That the Health and Sport Committee recommends that the Registration of Social Workers and Social Service Workers in Care Services (Scotland) Regulations 2013 [draft] be approved.—[Aileen Campbell.]
As no member wishes to speak in the debate, I invite the minister to sum up.
I waive my right to sum up.
Motion agreed to.
I thank the minister for putting up with all the disturbances—me spilling my glass of water and going off script and so on. I hope that it goes better—for me, anyway—the next time that you are here.
09:55
Meeting suspended.
09:57
On resuming—