Commentary on Sections Part 4 – Social Care Workers Sections 106 – 111 - Notifying the registrar of changes to information etc., duty to publish the register etc. and protection of title “social worker” etc.
157.It is important that the register is as up to date and as accurate as is possible. SCW is required therefore by rules to require registered persons to inform the registrar of any changes to the information recorded about him or her in the register. This could include informing the registrar of a change in employer for example if rules made by SCW require that such information must appear in the register.
158.Section 107 enables SCW to take a pro-active approach in respect of registered persons’ fitness to practise; instead of waiting for an allegation to be made or information being brought to its attention in another way that a registered persons’ fitness to practise may be impaired, section 107 enables SCW to conduct periodic surveys of registered persons to satisfy itself that their fitness to practise remains unimpaired. If the registrar was made aware of any issues through this process it could notify SCW who could refer the matter for further investigations under Chapter 2 of Part 6 (see explanatory note which accompanies Part 6 for further information).
159.For reasons of public protection the register can reflect those sanctions imposed by a fitness to practise panel on a registered person (see section 91). However, the register will not reflect that a person’s entry has been removed. Therefore SCW is required to keep a list of those persons whose entries have been removed. If members of the public had concerns about a social worker and couldn’t find their name on the register, they could check the list of removed persons to see if they had in fact been removed on the basis of being unfit to practise.
160.Section 111 provides protection of the title “social worker”. This was protected under section 61 of the 2000 Act. Subsection (2) provides a regulation-making power for the Welsh Ministers to be able to add other descriptions of social care workers whose title might require protection. Regulations could for example make it an offence for a person who is not registered as a manager of a regulated service to use that title or hold themselves out as being registered with an intention to deceive. SCW is required to set out its policy on prosecuting offences under section 111 (see section 72). This could for example set out that it will leave prosecutions to be brought by the Crown Prosecution Service, or that in certain cases it will bring private prosecutions.