Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is planning on introducing a requirement for social care workers to register with Care Quality Commission.

Care workers in England are subject to employer checks and controls including a Disclosure and Barring Service check. Since 2015, healthcare assistants and care support workers have been expected to achieve the care certificate before working unsupervised. This contains 15 standards setting out a common set of skills, knowledge and behaviours that are needed in order to provide safe, high quality and compassionate care.

The Government is committed to a proportionate system of safeguards for the professionals who work in the health and care system. Statutory professional regulation should only be used in cases where the risks to the public cannot be mitigated in other ways. We have no plans to introduce a requirement for social care workers in England to be registered in England at this time.