Press Release

New General Social Care Council Chair announced

6 October 2008

Rosie Varley OBE is to be the new Chair of the General Social Care Council (GSCC), replacing Sir Rodney Brooke, who is retiring after seven years in the role.

Rosie Varley is currently Chairman of the General Optical Council, Acting Chair of the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE - which oversees all health regulatory bodies), Chair of the Public Guardian Board, and a member of the Mental Health and Disability Living Allowance tribunals. Formerly she was one of the Appointments Commissioners, an NHS regional chairman, and an NHS trust chairman.

Rosie is closely involved with a number of voluntary bodies working in the field of mental health and substance misuse. She is President of West Suffolk Mind, and a governor of the Priory School in Bury St Edmunds. Rosie is a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, a freeman of the City of London and liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers. In 2007 she was awarded the OBE for services to the NHS and healthcare.

She will take up the role at the GSCC on 1 November 2008. The Chair leads a Council of ten members, who meet six times a year and determine the strategic direction of the organisation, which currently regulates social workers and will, over time, open the register to other types of social care workers. The GSCC also regulates social work education and training.

Ms Varley said: “I am delighted to be joining the GSCC at a time when social care is firmly on the national policy agenda, and radical changes are afoot to bring choice and control to people who use services and to ensure a system equipped to deal with an ageing population.

“Social care workers will play a critical part in making this a reality. Modern and effective regulation based on up to date and safe professional standards is in the common interests of users, employers and the workforce.

“In the GSCC I see an organisation committed to improving the lives of people by promoting the quality, accessibility and effectiveness of the services provided to them. I look forward to furthering that commitment, particularly as the organisation moves towards bringing the wider workforce into the sphere of regulation and accountability.”

In welcoming the appointment, current GSCC Chair Sir Rodney Brooke said: “Rosie has many years experience of leading major public bodies and we are therefore delighted that she will be overseeing the GSCC, as it looks ahead to registering other parts of the social care workforce.

“This is an interesting time for social care with the drive towards personalised services and the Every Child Matters agenda. With her long-term commitment to improving the quality of services, Rosie will be a great asset to the GSCC and I wish her well for the future.”