New government proposals for the registration of some 750,000 UK social care workers could make it harder for agencies to attract candidates and add a further layer of red tape to the process, recruiters have warned.

Care services minister Liam Byrne (pictured) has called for the registration of care workers with the General Social Care Council (GSCC), and believes the idea will be beneficial for the industry as a whole.

Byrne hopes the registration, expected to cost each social care worker between £20 and £30 a year, will help develop a more competent workforce, protect vulnerable people from potential abuse and raise the status of social care as a profession.

However, recruiters are not so enthusiastic about the scheme, which puts the onus on either care homes or agencies to find out whether an applicant has been checked by the Criminal Records Bureau, has relevant references, and the proper training.

Clare Stevenson, chief executive of Appleworks, a recruitment agency specialising in the childcare and social care sector, believes junior care positions will be the most affected.

“At the lower end of the market, it will be harder for recruiters to attract candidates because people will tend to stay put,” she said. “Organisations will be working harder to retain existing staff so as to avoid the stringent processes they underwent to recruit them in the first place.”

Peter Cullimore, chairman of the nurses and carers sector group at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, agrees with the concept in principle, but is concerned about how the rules will be implemented and how much value they will add.

“By simply registering care workers, the GSCC is not going to improve standards or raise the status of the profession,” he said.

“It would be better to invest in training which would benefit, employees, employers and the recruitment industry.”