The Social Workers Regulations 2018

Duty to provide information to the regulator

16.—(1) A registered social worker must inform the regulator as soon as practicable if they become aware that any of the information registered in relation to them ceases to be accurate.

(2) Any person who applies to be registered, and any registered social worker, must respond as soon as possible to any request from the regulator for information or evidence relevant to their registration or their continued registration.

(3) The regulator may request any information it considers necessary to enable it to carry out its functions under these Regulations, to meet its over-arching objective, or to meet the objectives mentioned in section 37(2) of the Act.

(4) Where a registered social worker has failed to provide information or evidence in accordance with paragraph (1), (2) or (3), the regulator may appoint two or more advisers, or members of the regulator’s staff, as the regulator thinks fit, as adjudicators to determine whether it is necessary, for the protection of the public or in the best interests of the registered social worker, to suspend or remove their entry from the register.

(5) Where the adjudicators are satisfied that—

(a) the registered social worker has failed, without good reason, to provide information or evidence in accordance with paragraph (1), (2) or (3), and

(b) it is necessary, for the protection of the public or in the best interests of the registered social worker to do so,

they may make a suspension order or a removal order, and paragraphs 12(4), 13, 15 and 16 of Schedule 2 apply to such an order as they apply to a final order made in fitness to practise proceedings.

(6) The regulator must make rules setting out the procedure to be followed in taking any action under this regulation.