Wilt predicted precisely this 12 months ago: http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2010/07/26/114986/sector-leaders-shocked-and-surprised-by-abolition-of-gscc.htm

According to Community Care sector leaders are shocked – well they should have been reading Regulator Watch. So, no surprise to Wilt and he will not be on his own in feeling pleased. The GSCC, with its stupid logo, has been a nightmare from day one. No doubt staff will be leaving to find new, proper, jobs with far less perks and salary – good.

The GSCC was after all one of the primary reasons for Regulator Watch being set up – to publicise those aspects of their work which they preferred not to have published.  You know like the major cock ups they frequently made and continue to make. What will Regulator Watch do without them and after the demise of Plaskitt (ex) MP and his demonic constituent?

Of course there is no word about the sister agencies in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales – and the functions of the GSCC will be transferred and subsumed by the Health Professions Council. Let’s see how well they do. For sure they cannot do any worse.

I like the title of the Government Report found here: http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/@ps/documents/digitalasset/dh_117832.pdf

“Liberating the NHS” has a certain, very satisfying ring to it! The title of Chapter 5 will be particularly poignant to some people in Oxfordshire and Salop.

Pages 21 – 23 deal with the proposed abolition of the GSCC and transfer of its functions. Interestingly, there is a hint that social work students will not be required to register and, unlike at present, the new registration will require no government subsidy i.e. total self funding.

Legislation will be introduced in November 2010 to make all the various changes and implementing the transfer of functions by the GSCC will be effective from April 2012 – these are indicative as distinct from absolute. If all goes to plan, by the end of March 2012 the GSCC will no longer exist – the end of an era error!

So who next? The ISA is already under notice and has delayed starting registration – they are as good as toast and Wilt predicts they will be gone before the end of the year.

Ofsted, Cafcass and Scie? The latter, to my surprise is not a public body although one suspects it gets some funding – it is widely predicted it will not survive. Wilt predicts Ofsted will get broken up and demolished and Cafcass will simply disappear.

The General Teaching Council is already toast. You never know, it might yet come about that regulation of social care might just go the same way. If not, expect to pay more for your registration or start calling yourself something other the protected title of “social worker.”

When the term ‘bonfire of the quangos’ was termed – they really meant it!

Good.

Wilt

You see, Gove has not forgotten us – not just yet anyway: http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2010/06/03/114637/gove-promises-support-for-taskforce-recommendations.htm

I aint too sure however that Community Care can be so assertive as they are in this advice: http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2010/06/03/114638/q-and-a-what-does-the-national-college-mean-for-social-workers.htm that the Social Work College could not become the Regulator to replace the GSCC (http://www.gscc.org.uk/Home/).

The article was written before the abolition of the General Teaching Council for England (http://www.gtce.org.uk/ ) by Mr Gove and as set out by the GTCE in their press release: http://www.gtce.org.uk/media_parliament/news_comment/gtcabolition0610/

The Regulation and Registration function of the GTCE will be assumed by some other body, so the General Social Care Council is not yet in the clear. If the teaching council can be abolished, so can the social work equivalent.

It is not true that all professions have a separate “college” or membership group from the regulatory and disciplinary functions. What exactly is the conflict in one single organisation promoting and supporting professionals whilst also investigating serious complaints? In my mind the two fit together snugly.

The options are however wide open – albeit to be fair the GSCC of late (under new leadership) appears to be getting its act together a bit more. However the trail of absolute disasters it has left behind through utter incompetence (and having been placed under special measures) has left few if any believing that the organisation is anything other an embarrassment.

My prediction – they will go too and their function of Registration will go somewhere else. There are too many of these Regulators and there is both an economy of scale and similar role and function argument in favour of mergers.

Time will tell……………

Wilt

ps: The same arguments and observations go for the SSSC, CCW and NISCC – however they are outside of the English jurisdiction and will determine their own futures.

Happy birthday Regulator Watch – you are one year old.

On 14^th May 2009 Regulator Watch went live and is now a worldwide phenomenon with a hoard of regular readers, contributors and stalkers. Of course our number one fan is Mrs C from her hovel in Warwickshire together with her numerous entourage of people to whom she complains – the list is far too long and boring.

Wilt having recently made his epic sail from the Mediterranean to the shores of his homeland is back and has gathered much information from Malta. It’s enough to make an old Templar cry in laughter. Much fun will be had. Not so much as lost or stolen files as brand new files – that should get the Information Commissioner and a poor harassed constable of Banbury a phone call. Shiver me timbers mates, the Wilt is back yet again from his sojourn. More travel (business) is on the near horizon, although this time via tarmac and airports as distinct from choppy seas. There might just be a few Salty Dog trips to North Wales – you bet there will.

But what a year Regulator Watch has seen – it has created a bit of a stir among the regulators in social care, the social care press and the press as a whole. Not to mention interest from some political figures and the like minded reasonable thinking people of the Wilt age i.e. sceptical friends of social care (like a critical friend). The police have had complaints (at least two police forces) from Mrs C (bless her), as have the GSCC and a host of other quango and government agencies. A huge fan has of course been James (The Dunes) Plaskitt, now a former MP of Warwick and Leamington Spa, and those he enlisted in his support – various Ministers, Ofsted and the Information Commissioner. All in an effort to close down Regulator Watch and find out who this dreaded Wilt is – they think they know who he is but it is belly breaking with laughter to keep them guessing. It is even more amusing, to Wilt at least, to know that in this hide and seek game that they are nowhere near warm, let alone hot.

It is of course very odd, in fact absolutely crass and indefensible, that on the one hand Mrs C and Dork Plaskitt try to gag Wilt whilst Mrs C breaches every aspect of confidentiality at will and Plaskitt attempted to exclude MPs from FOI requests – fucking brilliant. In true “1984” style this pair wanted to rewrite history and prevent any dissent or opposition. Now in the case of Mrs C she can be understood, she is a simple minded plebeian, but Plaskitt read PPE at Oxford – he must have missed the lectures on democracy.  Fucking Dorks, the pair of them – George Orwell will be laughing in his grave and saying “I told you.” Not that I am suggesting that Mrs C and Plaskitt are Mr and Mrs Stalin – well actually, I am!

And how UK politics have changed – apart from the decimation of Plaskitt! Gordon the Cyclops has gone after tearing out his fingernails hanging onto his desk, Ed the Ferkin Balls is a “has been” (but still an evil looking/acting bastard) and “Dave” the man is farting in the same place where Gordon frequently experienced dysentery – the Number 10 PMs private bathroom. It is rumoured that the party manifesto is used as a bog role!  We have hopes for Dave, after all he got our vote, and our local Conservative MP reckons that this coalition will result in real change.

We can but hope.

The year ahead is going to be very choppy – not only in wave action terms but also in CUTS. Big CUTS! We approve.  Big government (Whitehall/quango) will suffer immense trauma and just several hundred thousands of people will be looking for “real” jobs – you know, like earning a living.  No huge pay offs, a few quid and here is your P45. Oh, and don’t bother attempting to claim dole money cos you will effectively sign up to a contract of doing community work – Wilt needs his lawns, flower borders and fish pond tending to, and a few paint jobs. He will even let you clean his 3 cars. These (so called “employed”) scroungers will become nothing more than the drug taking alcoholics they think themselves to be above – they will all become very reliant on the decreasing state subsidies of other scroungers and beggars, notwithstanding “Cyclops” created a whole host of decent people unemployed through no fault in their work ethic.

And it will not just be Whitehall/quango. Hello local government – the smile is about to be wiped from your face.  A cut of 30% (in numerous places around the UK) will result in major job losses too. Again, we approve. Wilt is not aware of any local authority that will not make cuts in the range of 10 to 20%.

Business, including that of Wilt’s will boom for sure. Gone will be the influx of cheap labour from abroad as the increasing domestic workforce market “gets real” in terms of available options and enterprise flourishes – no longer the Albanian weekly car wash and more like the Swindon Cooperative of Ex-Government Employees Franchise Car Wash. So that these nice Whitehall and quango people fully understand, the current (Albanian) cost of a complete valet of a car is £10 (less the charitable on-cost for pension fund), is usually involving 3 persons, it takes about 30 minutes and they smile. OK they (Albanians) sleep 15 to a room (Gawd the smell must be awful) and might get pissed (for US readers – drunk) on occasion, and at which times lock up your daughters and sons, but you know, it is their choice and for them at least it provides a means to a living.  They certainly provide a service which I will pay for, and do so weekly. How then will our domestic workforce respond in the light of a choice between jobs/enterprise and a reduction in benefits?

We will see.

Anyway, it’s party time and I have to go blow out the candle on the birthday cake.

Wilt

A certain Mr White (Conservative) of Warwick who is fighting the Plaskitt (Labour) seat of Warwick and Leamington is sniffing victory, and so he should. His website is here:

http://www.conservatives.com/People/Prospective_Parliamentary_Candidates/White_Chris.aspx

And here: http://www.chriswhiteforchange.com/

You see Mr White is fighting the number 7 (seven) most marginal Labour seats in the UK as set out here: http://www.justsolutions.eu/Marginals/labMarginals.asp with Plaskitt (Dune Boy) only holding a majority of 266 votes – given the demise of Mrs C or at least her fickle charms and alliances, that is likely to reduce to 265. Even Plaskitt is disposable to her.

However, boundary changes in Warwickshire means that Plaskitt’s “notional” majority has risen to 5000! Another Labour conspiracy, me thinks. Nevertheless old one eyed Brown, our inglorious leader soon to become a voluntary worker if the election does not favour him (in other words cut and run), was visiting Warwick and Leamington today with arse licking Plaskitt at his side – Gawd Plaskitt was looking old and grey (probably too much effort in the Dunes).

And, if his “notional” majority is 5000, why did Gordon the Cyclops need to visit the constituency? Perhaps Sarah Brown needs to investigate if Gordon and James have a common interest in sand dunes! Or perhaps, as bloggers in Warwickshire predict, Plaskitt will be toast come Friday.

The most recent poll of marginal seats by the Telegraph (and it is comprehensive) is here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7674796/General-Election-2010-David-Cameron-needs-just-14-more-seats.html

And it aint very happy looking for Labour or in particular Dune Boy and his fellow cronies! Oh dear!

As stated in the Telegraph article:

“The Crosby/Textor poll questioned voters in 140 marginal seats held by Labour and 20 held by the Lib Dems. Overall, it put the Conservatives on 38 per cent, Labour on 31 per cent and the Lib Dems on 26 per cent. In the most marginal Labour seats, there has been a 7.5 percentage point swing from Labour to the Conservatives, it suggested. If this swing occurred uniformly in the Labour-Conservative marginals, Mr Cameron would seize 103 Labour-held seats.”

Plaskitt must be at the point of relaxing in the knowledge that come Friday this week he will be writing his memoirs – of life in the Dunes and other “exploits, mostly failed, like helping Mrs C, sorting out the Child Care Agency and introducing lie detector technology for benefit claimants.

And of course, shortly after his defeat, Mrs C can only ever have dreams of exploiting her falsehoods of oppression before the bright dawn of having to do a real days work – it is called earning a living, in fact it is called foster care.

A new dawn, a new woman – we doubt it.

There will however be a new order. It is called reality, and that will not be liked by Mrs C who will become even more profiled than she has been to date. Her true profile will emerge from the recess of that stone piled on a lump of cow dung.

Plaskitt will of course be well gone, will not give a “dung” and will make every effort to make more money in some other venture – for sure it will not involve him in anything potentially damaging like writing or mouthing off stuff to the press in support of Mrs C. Nor will he bully Ofsted (stupid twats), the DoH (even more stupid twats) or the Information Commissioner (utter Dorks), and least of all various quango – many quango in a (virtually certain) Conservative led Government will simply go up in a puff of smoke; all Local and Central Government agencies will be decimated beyond any hope of recovery – where will Mrs C feature in this? I leave it to you to consider further.

That will happen even if Plaskitt is re-elected; indeed it will happen whatever Government are in power – so Mrs C has no fucking hope at all, however it turns out.

Meanwhile, Wilt and Salty Dog will have an excellent life, well earned, as will our friend in Salop and his friends in Oxon with their nice houses, cars, holiday homes and huge, again well earned, incomes – even in semi-retirement. One works hard for those things – they are not achieved through claiming off the state or paying over the odds taxes for, in Cameron terms, big Government with little better to do than support Mrs C and other idiots like Ofsted and the GSCC.

There will of course, whoever wins this election be casualties – but I mean real casualties and not sham ones like Plaskitt and Mrs C, the twat quango or lost souls in central and local government. You know, like real workers. The UK will recover, despite Gordon Brown, but some will simply not – we suspect Mrs C has no exit plan, yet!

But she is versatile; she must be given that accolade. File Doctor can attest to that and various other contributors to Regulator Watch.

Wilt (with other conspirators)

PS: our mate in Salop said he had seen the Cyclops in Telford with that fool David Wright – it seems his so called safe seat is in need of a “boost” from Gordon too. Kiss of death if you ask me!

Wright was the MP who attempted to claim on expenses a new Phillips razor (TWAT) but  successfully received near on £17000.00 to sell his reduced rent tenancy for his London abode and then went on to rent somewhere else at commercial rates at the taxpayer expense – fucking tea leaf!  Has he repaid? He claims he has paid something back but has not disclosed how much.

And of course he had the necessary new wide screen flat panel TV and a whole host of other personal items that will now adorn his Telford home. Of course Mr Wright will not be on his own in that respect, eh Mr (new bathroom) Plaskitt! How much money will he be paying back on his mortgaged London home, we wonder?

Meanwhile the new Supreme Court has forced a judgement of a slightly peculiar nature and questionable wisdom:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8634239.stm

Has the correct balance been achieved? Clearly adults (offenders of gross acts) need to be given the right to be rehabilitated but children (victims) seem again to have a limited, if any, voice in proceedings. Why, for example, were not the NSPCC seeking party statuses in such a case matter and strenuously arguing child protection concerns? Where were, with all their money gained through public support, the NSPCC?

Nowhere to be seen – again!

Wilt (from his desk in Malta)

This press release from the GSCC is an utter disgrace. They first off presume they have a future (at all), second they believe they have something to contribute, third they assume any competence (they are under special measures) but fourth and worst of all they believe they have the moral foundation (“compass”) to judge others.

See the press release here: http://www.gscc.org.uk/News+and+events/Media+releases/Media_release_17-03-10.htm

We believe this is the equivalent of “whistling in the dark” (as in nervously walking down a dark alley feeling very nervous but trying to appear confident to ward off an attack). In reality the GSCC are fighting for their life and they are grasping at any opportunity which might deter any further attack on their status e.g. we are big girls and do not take us on.

The fact is “darlings”  your future is already written, and it aint as you hope or aspire to – you’re dead meat girlies and no amount of whistling  will improve your chances of winning confidence with anyone.

We see the Care Standards Tribunal continue to regard the GSCC as utter dorks, see here: http://www.carestandardstribunal.gov.uk/Public/View.aspx?ID=1071

Wilt is aware that other findings will yet further prove the fuck ups of this most fucked up organisation.

Twats!

Wilt

Well, it seems BASW are really getting a bashing over the proposal to go for a separate Social Work College – now its academics. See article here: http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2010/03/09/114009/sector-leaders-shun-basw-college-plan.htm

Among them is Ray Jones who famously had q bit of a falling out with the previous CEO of BASW (not difficult) and knowing both men I can assure you Ray Jones is a very affable man. It is a real shame BASW are taking this approach and as indicated by the comments of the academics it is going to create division and confusion when what is needed is consensus and clarity.

Why, oh why oh why are these people doing this? And a better question is why do BASW think they have improved over their previous capacity of not being able to organise a piss up in a brewery? They are essentially entirely out of their depth.

Wilt

It seems the GSCC are becoming a little more thoughtful and considered in their judgements as is evidenced in this case, http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2010/03/09/114008/lancashire-family-support-agency-worker-admonished.htm which is further encouraging of their newly found proportional response. It is in contrast of course to more historical cases, not least in relation to Arthurworrey as one example, where clearly they were out to earn their spurs and prove to the Government that they were worthy of their existence – a history littered with despicable and outrageous attitudes.

Whilst there are signs of improvement we have not yet removed them from the Dork List and of course we must not let them become complacent. They are of course fighting for their existence at the moment and are effectively still under special measures.

We are still watching.

Wilt

Whether it is local government or central government bodies (including quango) the realities of cutbacks, reducing outrageous perks and job slashing is becoming a daily headline. From the Government perspective it is reducing waste (which they created – mostly by Gordon) and the Conservatives which is remodelled as doing more for less. They are different sides of the same coin, except the Conservatives (rightly) would reduce public expenditure with or without a major budget deficit. Here is but one example:

http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2010/03/09/114010/efficiency-savings-could-lead-to-bigger-council-cuts-warn-directors.htm

and here:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7056366.ece

My mate, who is a senior Conservative figure in the local Council, (and indeed other Councillors or all political colours in other areas) are explicit that cutbacks are possible without major effects upon so called “frontline” services. And posts (if not staff on the payroll) will very shortly no longer exist.

However, such cutbacks need to be combined with a reduction in expectations and paperwork (and culling a few quango entirely whilst combining others) as in rejecting aspects of Laming’s (Baby P) recommendations as essentially well intentioned but distorting of the role of social workers, as outlined in this article:

http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2010/03/10/114013/scrap-lamings-social-work-assessment-plans-says-lga.htm

and this one:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8558463.stm

Wilt once shared a stage with Laming (shortly after the latter retired) in giving a conference speech and met him later at another event – nice guy but (despite how he portrays himself) not very much of this world. He was after all a former senior Whitehall mandarin who although thoughtful, caring and hard working was and remains slightly unworldly and not grounded in the realities of modern social work.

When Wilt was a fledgling social worker the job was not easy but today he would, if starting out anew, be seriously challenged – it is only a wise old head and the ability to select what work he does which allows him to practice with a level of competence, partly as a auditor/inspector, occasional interim manager, tribunal member, children’s guardian and professional (“expert”) witness. Going back to the frontline of children and families work would be very hard, and I probably would not (at my time in life) quite come up to expectations.

Laming should perhaps reflect on his position as should his successor Dame Denise, both of whom were in fact good Social Services Inspectorate Chief Inspectors (and Denise also the former Chair of the former CSCI). However, it is Laming, hailed as the oracle of children’s social care, who needs to get a grip on avoiding the confusion where one cannot see the wood for the trees.

He is as indicated, well intentioned but lacking the recent knowledge of what it is like on the frontline.

He and Wilt, along with some other bloggers, however share a common status – those who can do, those who can’t teach!

At least Wilt is self deprecating in good British fashion. He read recently the reason for this British characteristic – it is because Britons have a long history whereupon they can self deprecate in the full knowledge that they have a long cultural/historical deposit to call upon, whilst others (like the USA) are still developing their history and as such continue to fly the flag and deny even the most obvious errors.

That reminds me of the GSCC – their history is not exactly littered with huge success, rather their efforts to fly their own flag. Perhaps, also similar to both Laming and that twat Ferkin Balls – the latter the demonic reincarnation of Damien.

Hard times and hard decisions ahead.

Wilt

Wilt has been working hard, hence his absence from the Blog. However, he has been doing some catching up with, even for him, an earlier than normal start to the day.

It seems according to Community Care: http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2010/03/04/113956/one-third-of-foster-carers-forced-to-consider-giving-up.htm that foster parents are displeased with their remuneration, and that comes as no surprise as they are as a whole undervalued and not really seen by many in social care as partners.

It is further reported here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8548636.stm by the BBC.

Let me be clear, the vast majority of foster parents are true professionals, occasionally far more grounded and professional than some of those spotty faced newly qualified social workers, their managers and elected members – generally, although not always the voluntary and independent agencies are much better at managing these services and is one area where local authorities would be best to chuck in the towel.

I say generally as to be fair some local authorities are very good at it, but even the best of them struggle.

Foster care is no panacea as there remains as evidenced (mostly in the private sector) in the high numbers of children’s homes in operation. Equally, as there are Dork social workers there are utter idiots and charlatans among the ranks of foster parents, purely out for their own ends and to do as little as possible and, in order to divert attention from their failings/inadequacies, spend immense energy in finding fault with others – as in Mrs C.

So whereas the VAST majority of foster parents work hard, diligently and with complete focus on the child, others (and there is usually one per agency) simply want to create as much havoc as possible in the hope of promoting their personal vanity and lazy/false suggestion of their talents in professional child care. They are a distraction which on the whole obscures the tireless but genuine foster parents who quietly get on with the very hard task of caring for neglected, rejected and abused children, of all ages.

In days gone by the former National Foster Care Association, now the Fostering Network (http://www.fostering.net/) were an organisation you could do business with and were a true and righteous political pressure group, led by good people who, although occasionally lacking a sense of reality, actually cared about children.

They struggled in balancing the factual portrayal (then) of foster carers being intrinsically and instinctively motivated by no personal gain (other than caring for children) and the aspiration that they should be recognised as equal professionals. That struggle is ongoing sadly, but the new Fostering Network does not help itself when failing to distinguish between really good foster carers and really rather poor, questionably motivated people like Mrs C – it is rumoured/reported (from numerous sources) that Mr C is the real foster parent whilst Mrs C is just, well, a waste of space and to boot does not give a shit. And these are reliable sources.

Most “normal” people simply get on with the job – they perform well and are rewarded by results. Some however do the least possible and divert attention away from their personal failures, as in Mrs C.

A bit like social work, foster care is as much a passion and vocation as it is a professional task (unless you are Mrs C et al) but it is imperative that there is “body” which promotes its advance. As BASW is a false hope for social work, so equally is the Fostering Network under its current leadership.

If the Fostering Network (among others) wish to (and it seems it is a wish) defend the likes of Mrs C on the indefensible, then so be it – all it will achieve will be to drag itself down to the level of Mrs C, which it has done hitherto even to values and means exploited by the GSCC, and one gets low in moral standards at that level. In a case matter even the GSCC considered the Fostering Network as a hopeless witness in a (unpublished) finding and the Police were simply, well, spitting in their contempt for this (so called) representatives of foster carers.

Dorks come to mind.

However, better recognition (professionally) is necessary – they like others will however need to ride out the recession and consequential major cutbacks soon upon us. They remain however, with a few exceptions, my heroes.

Wilt