Details of Scheduled Conduct Hearings
Conduct Hearings are normally held at the NISCC Office at Millennium House, Great Victoria Street, Belfast. They are formal proceedings and will normally be held in public. At least one week prior to a hearing date, a notice will normally be placed on this page.
Conduct hearings are held where a NISCC Registrant is suspected of misconduct and NISCC investigations have established sufficient evidence to progress the case. The Conduct Committee is made up of five members who have an interest or background in the social care sector but take decisions in the public interest. Three of the Committee members are lay members. Options open to the Committee are admonishment, suspension or removal of the Registrant from the Register.
We cannot confirm how long a hearing will last, or whether there will be adjournments or requests for them to be held in private. Hearings may be held in private if the particular circumstances of the case outweigh the public interest in holding a public hearing e.g. where the alleged misconduct may have been caused by the Registrant's physical or mental health or to protect vulnerable witnesses or people who use social services. In such cases, a decision on whether to hear the case in private will be made by the Conduct Committee at the start of the hearing. Witnesses for Conduct cases may not be identified. In order to protect the confidentiality of these witnesses, including children, limited information is available from the NISCC before the hearing. Anyone wishing to attend a Conduct hearing should contact Caroline Cumberland (Committee Clerk), call 028 9041 7644. For media enquiries about the hearing, please contact NISCC Communications Officer, André McKeown Tel: 028 9041 7610.