Scottish Social Services Council - proposed register changes: consultation

Introduction

The Scottish Social Services Council

The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) is a Non-Departmental Public Body, set up under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001, with statutory public protection functions to regulate social service workers and to promote their education and training. They protect the public by registering over 160,000 social work, social care and early years workers (as of April 2023); setting standards for their practice, conduct, training and education and by supporting their professional development. Where people fall below these standards, the SSSC can investigate and implement sanctions (including removal) where necessary. The SSSC's core functions include:

• publishing the national codes of practice for people working in social work, social care and early years services and their employers
• registering people working in social work, social care and early years and making sure they adhere to the codes of practice
• promoting and regulating the workforce's learning and development
• being the national lead for workforce development and planning for the social work, social care and early years workforce in Scotland
• producing workforce data and intelligence on the social service workforce in Scotland for employers and other stakeholders that support the development of the sector.

There are almost 210,000 people working in social work, social care and children and young people services across Scotland. This workforce includes social care workers, social workers, social work students and children and young people workers. They work across a range of care services, in residential and day centres, community facilities and in people's homes. The SSSC are responsible for registering most of this workforce, making sure they meet the standards set out in the SSSC Codes of Practice.