In this section you will find out more information about what the Care Council does, and how we're governed and managed and our achievements over the past ten years.Set up under the Care Standards Act 2000 as the first organisation to regulate the social care profession, we aim to ensure the social care workforce in Wales is safe to practice; has the right skills and qualifications to work to a high professional standard and is attracting the right amount of people into its ranks to deliver quality care now and in the future.

We don't work alone, as the success of what we do depends on partnerships and contributions from people who have real experience of social care. That's why members of the Care Council, who govern the work of the organisation, represent many voices. Among others, they represent the views of the general public, people who use services, carers, workers, trade unions and employers. This ensures that all those groups are given a voice in setting standards and improving social care in Wales.

Established under the Care Standards Act 2000 as the regulator of the social care profession in Wales, we have a duty to safeguard the public by promoting and securing high standards of conduct and practice among social workers and social care workers. But that's not all we do. We also have the role of workforce planning and developing the professionalism of practitioners, mainly through qualifications, training and knowledge-sharing.

During the first 10 years of the Care Council, many milestones have already been reached. These have included putting in place recognised standards for the way in which social care workers deliver services; creating a public register of practitioners; developing training and qualifications and contributing to workforce planning. We know that achieving a high-quality, confident and competent professional workforce across social work and social care is a continuous journey. It is important to acknowledge what has been achieved and what is now in place.

Much has been achieved in key areas of our work to regulate and develop the workforce. The Welsh Government's policy paper Sustainable Social Services outlines a vision of the future for social work and social care in Wales. The importance of a confident and competent professional workforce was re-stated in the Welsh Government's policy document, which says: Citizen-focused, sustainable services will not be possible without placing the professional contribution of social workers and social care workers even more at the heart of services.