Our history
Find out about how we were created, the organisations
that came before us, and how we have changed.
The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) was launched in
April 2004 as the single independent inspectorate for all social
care services in England.
We were created by the Health and Social Care (Community Health
and Standards) Act 2003.
CSCI incorporated the work previously done by:
- the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI)
- SSI/Audit Commission Joint Review Team
- the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC).
However CSCI was given a much wider remit than its predecessor
organisations and its creation was a significant milestone for
social care.
“Our job is to make sure that services are relevant and personal
to the people who use them: give people choice; give people voice;
give people dignity; and most importantly safeguard and promote
their rights and welfare,” says Paul Snell, CSCI’s Chief Inspector,
appointed in July 2006.
As part of the Government’s Every Child Matters programme
significant changes were made to the arrangements for regulating
and inspecting children’s services in the Children Act 2004. This
has meant that from 1 April 2007 the responsibility for regulating
children’s social care services has been transferred from CSCI to
Ofsted.
Recently the Government has announced further change. This means
that, subject to legislation, from April 2009 a new single body
responsible for regulating both adult social care and health, the
Care Quality Commission, will be established.