New enforcement teams to tackle poor care providers
12 April 2007
Seven new specialist enforcement teams will tackle poorly
performing care services, under new proposals agreed by the
Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI).
The move reflects CSCI’s commitment to improving services and
stamping out bad practice wherever we see it.
While much progress has already been made, there is still more
to do.
Based in each of CSCI’s seven regions, the enforcement teams
will be led by highly experienced senior inspectors – called
Regulation Managers – supported by specialist inspectors and
support staff.
The teams will work closely with CSCI’s lawyers to improve the
speed, quality and consistency of enforcement activity in
England.
CSCI will also inform local councils, who purchase services for
local residents, about poorly performing care services in their
area, and the legally binding ‘requirements to improve’ placed upon
services by CSCI inspectors.
CSCI Chair Dame Denise Platt said:
"The new regional enforcement teams will allow us to be more
effective at tackling poor providers, not just in responding to
concerns, but also being clearer about when, and how long,
providers should be given time to improve before taking enforcement
action to close them down.
"We will work with the Government to see how the law on
protecting adults can be brought into line with the laws protecting
children, to ensure that the rights and welfare of vulnerable
adults are promoted and safeguarded in the same way as for
children.
"We are also seeking additional powers of prosecution in
situations where there have been serious breaches of the
regulations or where the safety or care of people has been
compromised, but where the situation does not meet the criteria for
urgent action or closure."
Proposals to boost CSCI’s enforcement activity were discussed at
a public meeting of Commissioners in London yesterday.
CSCI will also give greater prominence to its enforcement
activity in the media for the benefit of people who use care
services now and in the future, their relatives and friends, and
for the information of local councils.
Over the nine months to December 2006, 72% of services assessed
to be poor have improved or closed down.
The use of statutory enforcement powers is estimated to have
played a part in 16% of these.
Inspectors use a range of methods to improve the quality of care
services, ranging from general advice and guidance, to requiring an
improvement plan which is then acted upon, to prosecuting criminal
offences using the courts and tribunals as necessary.
Ends
Notes for editors
1. Copies of the paper on enforcement discussed by Commissioners
on 11 April 2007 can be found on the CSCI’s website: www.csci.org.uk
2. CSCI is the single inspectorate for adults’ social care in
England, responsible for regulating and inspecting all social care
providers - whether in the public or independent sector - and for
assessing the performance of local councils in delivering their
adults’ social services functions.
3. The Commission’s primary aim is to improve social care by
putting the needs of people who use care services first.
4. The Commission is chaired by Dame Denise Platt DBE and has
five Commissioners. The Chief Inspector is Paul Snell. CSCI staff
work across seven regions in England.
5. From 1 April 2007 social care services for children are
regulated and inspected by the Office for Standards in Education,
Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted).