Board Committees and Partnerships

We work in partnership with people who have real life experience of all aspects of social work and social care – people who use services, our registrants, carers, employers, education providers, trade unions and representative bodies. This ensures that all our stakeholders are given a voice in setting standards and improving social care in Northern Ireland.

Our business is planned and reviewed through six sub-committees authorised by the Board to take forward work in key areas.

The Social Care Council has had a long history of working collaboratively in the design and delivery of its business across the social work and social care sector. Many of the objectives and outcomes described in this Business Plan require the involvement and collaboration of its Partnerships. The diagram below describes how each of these Partnerships (also called ‘Forums’) work to challenge, influence and advise the work of the Social Care Council.

Audit & Risk Assurance Committee

The purpose of the Committee is to advise the Board and the Chief Executive, as the Accounting Officer for the Social Care Council and the Chair of the Board on issues relating to corporate governance, internal audit and quality control, risk management and financial audit.

The Director of Registration and Corporate Services and appropriate Internal and External Audit representatives normally attend meetings and at least once a year the Committee meets with the External and Internal Auditors.

Meeting dates

Remuneration Committee

The main function of the Committee is to make recommendations to the Board on performance, development, succession planning and appropriate remuneration and terms of service for the Chief Executive as guided by DoH policy and best practice and to ensure robust objectives, performance measures and evaluation processes are in place within the Social Care Council in respect of the Chief Executive.

Meeting dates

Leaders in Social Care Partnership

The Leaders in Social Care Partnership is a Committee of the Social Care Council. It was established in 2015 as was previously called the Workforce Development Partnership.

The Leaders in Social Care Partnership is a strategic partnership of senior managers from the statutory, voluntary and private social care sectors. The purpose of the Partnership is to work with the Social Care Council to establish a strategic framework for the transformation and development of the social care workforce in Northern Ireland that will ensure the sustainability of a skilled, competent and fit for purpose workforce.

Meeting dates

Participation Partnership

The Social Care Council Participation Partnership is consists of people who use services and carers from a range of backgrounds and experiences. They meet every 2 – 3 months and play a key role in our business.

The responsibilities of the Partnership are to influence and advise the Social Care Council and to develop principles and standards to encourage best practice in participation working.

Click here for meeting dates and more information about the Participation Partnership.

Professional in Practice Partnership (PiP)

The Professional in Practice Partnership (PiP) was established by the Social Care Council in 2015, as a Board subcommittee.

The PiP Partnership is comprised of representatives of education institutions and other provider bodies providing post qualifying social work education, representatives of social work employers in all relevant sectors and the commissioner for social work training from the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB), and other relevant constituencies. 

The purpose of the PiP Partnership is to support the Council in discharging its responsibilities in relation to post-qualifying education and training for social workers in Northern Ireland.

Meeting dates

Strategic Research and Evidence Partnership

The Research and Evidence Partnership is a committee of the Social Care Council’s Board and is chaired by Professor Davy Hayes, Queen’s University Belfast.

The purpose of this Partnership is to create new links with the wider research infrastructure both locally and nationally, seek out research funding streams, identify the types of research and evidence that will inform policy and practice, explore gaps in our evidence and support the identification of strategic research and evidence priorities.

Meeting dates

Committee meetings are not open to the public.  Agendas for upcoming meetings will be published on this page, one week before the meeting.  Papers from previous meetings will be published on this page one week after the meeting. If you have any Committee queries email the Chief Executive’s office at: businesssupport@niscc.hscni.net