The Regulation of Care (Social Service Workers) (Scotland) Order 2005

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

Section 44(1) of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 (2001 asp 8) (“the Act”) requires the Scottish Social Services Council to maintain a register of social workers, social service workers of any other description prescribed and persons participating in a course or employed in a position probationary to becoming either a social worker or social service worker of a qualified description.

The Regulation of Care (Social Service Workers) (Scotland) Order 2004 (S.S.I. 2004/268) (“the 2004 Order”) prescribes a description of social service worker for the purposes of section 44(1)(b) of the Act. The description covers employees of the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care who are authorised persons within the meaning of sections 25 and 27 of the Act with certain exclusions.

This Order revokes the 2004 Order and prescribes a description of social service worker for the purposes of section 44(1)(b) of the Act. It re enacts the reference to employees of the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care who are authorised persons within the meaning of sections 25 and 27 of the Act and also prescribes three additional descriptions of social service worker, namely residential child care workers who are managers of residential child care services, residential child care workers who are not managers of residential child care services but do supervise other residential child care workers and residential child care workers who are neither managers of residential child care services nor supervisors of other residential child care workers (article 2).

The Order provides that chartered members of the British Psychological Society and those who are registered with or are a member of any of the other bodies listed in article 3 of the Order are excluded from the prescribed descriptions of social service worker (article 3). The exclusion does not extend to members of the British Psychological Society who are not chartered members of the Society although such persons were excluded by the 2004 Order.

The Order revokes the 2004 Order.