Revised Fitness to Practise Rules Consultation

Introduction

This consultation sets out our proposals to revise and update our Fitness to Practise Rules (the FTP Rules). 

The last Rules came into effect in 2016. We made changes to those Rules in 2017 and 2021. These changes altered what the 2016 Rules said but did not completely replace them.

We are proposing changes and want to issue a new set of rules which include these proposed changes and those which we made in 2017 and 2021 to the 2016 FTP Rules.

Why is this important?

The FTP Rules set out what the SSSC does when we receive a concern about a social service worker. They say when we need to open an investigation, what happens during and at the end of investigations and how hearings in front of Fitness to Practise Panels are run.

Why are we reviewing the FTP Rules?

The last Rules came into effect in 2016. Since then, we made changes in 2017 to introduce the role of Legally Qualified Chair to our Panel structure. We also made changes in 2021 to create a process for registered and non registered workers to decide whether to opt in to hearings.  

We now want to update the Rules to reflect changes at the SSSC (for example that we now routinely hold online hearings) and changes to legal practice and procedure. We also want to improve some of the Rules and make the Rules clearer where they lack detail.

What have we done so far?

We have asked our Fitness to Practise Panel Members, our Hearings Team and our Fitness to Practise Department for their views on the current FTP Rules and on any changes which they thought we should make. We considered these and identified those we wanted to consult on.

What specific areas are we consulting on?

• We decided that the main changes we wanted to make were about:
  
  • vulnerable witnesses
  • the maximum length of time for Temporary Orders
  • workers who are unfit to plead
  • workers with health issues who do not engage with our investigations
  • reviews of our decisions.
• We also decided that we want to make less important changes to some Rules. These are set out in the appendix here.
• We want to issue a new set of FTP Rules which include any changes we decide to make, as well as those we made to the current Rules in 2017 and 2021. You can read the Combined Fitness to Practise Rules 2021 here.

Read the full consultation document summarising the changes.

Who is this consultation for?

We want to hear from people with an interest in the Rules whether you are a social care/service worker, employer, learning provider/university or an individual who uses care services or you care for someone who uses services. We are also interested in hearing from those who represent workers in Fitness to Practise investigations, including trades unions, lawyers and advice centres.

When does the consultation start and end? 

How can I take part in the consultation? 

• This is an online consultation. Note that you need to complete it in one go, it does not save your progress. 
• Before starting the consultation, please have a look at the Revised FTP Rules Consultation and the Appendix to FTP Rules Consultation. This explains the changes we would like to make to the Rules. The questions in the consultation relate to these points.
• The consultation takes approximately 20 minutes to complete.

What happens next?

After the closing date we will analyse the information and feedback. We plan to take a proposal to our Council at its meeting in March 2026 and we will publish the results of the consultation after the meeting.

More about the SSSC and what do we do 

We are the regulator for the social work, social care and children and young people workforce in Scotland.

There are more than 212,000 people working in social services in Scotland. This includes social care workers, social workers, social work students and children and young people workers in a range of care services, in residential and day centres, community facilities and in people’s homes.

We protect the public by registering this workforce, setting standards for their practice, conduct, training and education and by supporting their professional development. Where people fall below the standards of practice and conduct, we can investigate and take action.

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