A registered social care workforce that has the public’s confidence

The Welsh public has a positive perception about the skills and professionalism of the social care workforce in Wales:

• 72% have confidence in those who work in care
• 82% know what an acceptable standard of care is
• 63% think social care workers and social workers are regulated (up from 58% in 2021)
• only 29% know how to raise a concern about a social worker or social care worker 
• 70% think childcare and early years workers are regulated in Wales – only 8% know they’re not
• 67% agree people should receive care in Welsh if that’s what they choose (same as 2021) – support is higher among those who speak Welsh (76%), but it’s relatively high among non-Welsh speakers (63%), too

(Source: Wales Omnibus survey 2023)

As of March 2024 61,000 people were registered with us (nearly 8,000 more than at the end of 2023):

• 1,299 adult care home managers

• 24,970 adult care home workers

• 988 domiciliary care managers

• 21,578 domiciliary care workers

• 6,763 social workers

• 383 residential child care managers

• 4,342 residential child care workers

Fitness to practise means that a registered worker has the skills, knowledge and character to carry out their work safely and effectively. It’s a regulatory framework designed to protect the public by ensuring that only those who are fit to practice are allowed to do so.

In 2023 to 2024:

• 465 social care workers were referred to our fitness to practise team

• we held 51 final hearings

46 people (0.08% of the Register) were removed from the Register, so they can no longer work in a registered social care role in Wales. They were:   

• 4 residential child care workers 

• 2 adult care home managers 

• 8 adult care home workers 

• 1 social worker

• 31 domiciliary care workers. 

“These changes will make registration more straightforward and effective for Wales, and make sure we can continue to attract the very best workforce for social care.” David Pritchard, our Director of Regulation