Our Board

The Northern Ireland Social Care Council (the Social Care Council) is a non-departmental public body (NDPB). The Board’s Chair is directly accountable to the Minister of Health. The Board is made up of a Chair and 8 non-executive members. The members represent a wide range of interests in the field of social care.

Board Membership is split equally between:

Lay members – people who have direct experience as users of services, carers or voluntary workers.

Stakeholder members – people involved in service delivery/commissioning, trade unions, education/training, professional bodies, or allied professions.

Registrant members – people who are employed as social care workers.

Board meetings and papers

Board meetings are held four times a year and are open to the public. The meetings are usually held in the Social Care Council office at James House, Belfast. The Board meeting schedule is listed below.

The agenda for upcoming Board meetings and approved minutes for the previous 12 months are published here on the website. Agendas for Board meetings are available one week before the meeting is due to take place. Minutes from Board meetings are available one week after they are approved by the Board. Contact our Business Support Team if you require copies of earlier minutes/agendas email: businesssupport@niscc.hscni.net.

Upcoming board meetings:

If you would like to attend a Board meeting please email: businesssupport@niscc.hscni.net at least three working days before the meeting and we will get in touch to make arrangements for your attendance.

Click here for the guidelines for members of the public attending social care council board meetings.

Northern Ireland Social Care Council Board Members

Gerard Guckian is a partner in a firm of solicitors in Derry/Londonderry, having qualified in 1985. As a member of the Children’s Order Panel of the Law Society of Northern Ireland since its inception, Mr Guckian has represented children in public law proceedings for over 20 years. He is a former Chairman of Altnagelvin Hospital Health and Social Services Trust (2004-2006) and former Chairman of the Western Health and Social Care Trust (2006-2016). Within those roles he chaired the Trusts’ Governance and Remuneration and Terms of Service Committees. Having served as a Non-Executive Director before those appointments, Mr Guckian has a lengthy experience of leadership in Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland. He served on the representatives group of the Northern Ireland Confederation of Health and Social Care for 11 years, chairing that organisation for two terms. He is a Trustee of Foyle Hospice.

David Hayes qualified as a Social Worker in 1988 and worked as both a practitioner and trainer in Family and Child Care services in North and West Belfast.  He joined the staff of Queen’s University Belfast in 2005 and is currently a Senior Lecturer in Social Work in the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work where in contributes to social work education at both qualifying and post-qualifying levels.

David completed his PhD in 2008 and his research interests are focused on service users experiences of the child protection and criminal justice systems, the involvement of family members in child protection and child welfare processes, and the practice and experiences of professionals who operate the child protection system. He is a member of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and Chair of the Northern Ireland branch of the Association of Child Protection Professionals (formerly known as BASPCAN). 

Sarah Browne has worked in the Health and Social Care Sector for 38 years until her retirement in December 2016. She worked for almost 30 years managing Older Peoples Services and was responsible for the planning, commissioning and delivery of services.
Prior to retirement she had a lead role in Adult Safeguarding Services and she has maintained this interest as she now sits on the Action on Elder Abuse NI Advisory Committee. Sarah was awarded an OBE for her contributions to the Social Care Sector in Northern Ireland in the New Years’ Honours List 2016.

Roslyn Dougherty is a qualified Social Worker with almost 40 years’ experience. She has worked across a range of professional and managerial positions. Prior to her retirement in 2016 she was the Assistant Director for Social Work in the South Eastern Trust with responsibility for Learning Development and Research. Since retirement Roslyn has worked as a Part Time Lecturer in Belfast Metropolitan College and has also undertaken Tutor and practice assessor responsibility for the Research Programme at Ulster University.

Roslyn has been a member of the Governing Body for the North West Regional College since 2016. She serves there on the Staffing Committee and is Vice Chair of Audit and Risk Committee.

Jaquelline McGarvey is a qualified Social Worker with over 30 years’ extensive experience working within Statutory and Voluntary Agencies within Children and Family, Adult and Disability Services in Northern Ireland. Jacqui has been an Independent Social Work Consultant since June 2016, during that time she has been appointed by the Safeguarding Board in Northern Ireland to undertake CMRs (Serious Case Management Reviews) for children up to the age of 18 years. She has also been appointed as a Panel Member for National Independent Review Panel for People with a Disability by the HSE, Ireland.

Prior to June 2016, Jacqui was an Assistant Director within the Health and Social Services Trusts for 11 years. Her role involved strategically developing and managing services. During this role Jacqui has been involved in improving the quality of services and has advocated for many years to ensure that staff within social work and social care had support for development and learning.  Jacqui has previously commissioned services for children and families and was Policy Advisor for Safeguarding Children. She was also involved in the Audit of Hospitals for Children with Mental Health and Learning Disabilities for the Department of Heath Social Services and Public Safety.

Denise Hunt BEM is a qualified barrister with over 25 years post qualification experience in Practice. In 2011 she assumed ownership and management of the Londonderry Arms Hotel in Carnlough until her retirement in 2024.

In the 2021 Queen’s Honours list she was awarded the BEM for services to the hospitality sector. Ms Hunt is a graduate of Queens University Belfast and obtained a Master’s in law from the London School of Economics. Ms Hunt holds another public appointment with the Department of Justice as a Board Member on the Probation Board for Northern Ireland. 

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Carol Diffin has over 40 years’ experience working in the statutory Health and Social Care sector. She qualified as a social worker in 1984 and has worked primarily in statutory Children’s Services across Belfast HSC Trust (BHSCT), Southern HSC Trust (SHSCT) and in the Northern Ireland Guardian Ad Litem Agency, now known as The Children’s Court Guardian Agency for Northern Ireland since March 2023.

Throughout her career she has held a number of senior management positions, including Director of Children’s Community Services/Executive Director of Social Work in the BHSCT from September 2018 until September 2022. Mrs Diffin holds another public appointment with the Department of Health as a Non-Executive Director with the Northern Health and Social Care Trust (NHSCT).