Frequently asked questions
Get answers to frequently asked questions about how to
register a social care service with us.
Once I pay my fee for an application can I have it refunded or
transfer it to another application?
No. The fee you pay is for that specific application and it is
not refundable.
I am a partner. Do I have to apply separately to
be the manager and do I have to pay a separate fee?
Yes. If you want to manage the home as well as being a partner,
you have to apply on a separate form to be the manager.
You will have to fill in two applications (one for a partner and
one for a manager) and pay the fee for each application.
This is because a partnership has to appoint a manager, whether
this is one of the partners or not, and there are different
requirements in the law about 'fitness' for a manager and a
partnership.
Yes, local councils can operate care homes with nursing provided
that they have entered into a formal partnership arrangement with
an NHS body to enable them to do so.
Such agreements, made under section 75 of the National Health
Service Act 2006 allow NHS functions to be delegated to
councils.
Local councils applying for the first time to register a care
home with nursing will need to supply a copy of the relevant
partnership agreement when they submit their application.
We are buying a home and keeping on the same
manager. Does the manager have to apply for registration
again when we apply?
If the home continues to run with effectively the same statement
of purpose and service user group, the manager is still
registered and will not need to re-apply. However, if you make
changes so that the home becomes a different service, then the
manager will need to apply again. If you are in any doubt, please
discuss this with your registration team before you submit your
application.
We provide a day care service for
adults with a learning disability. Do we have to register with
you?
No, the law does not say that a day care service needs to be
registered with us.
If you provide personal care for people in their own homes you
would need to register with us as a domiciliary care agency (often
known as 'home care agency').
If you provide care and accommodation in an establishment then
the law describes this as a care home.
If you provide day care in a registered care home (for people
who do not live there), then the day care itself is not
registered.
We would want to know what impact your day care would have on
the people who live there and you would need extra staff, space and
other facilities.
In this last case, you should talk to our local office
staff.
Do I have to get a new CRB
check done through you to be registered as a manager, as I have
just had one done by my employers?
Yes, the law says that we must countersign your CRB
application.
You should come to one of our offices to get the CRB form
countersigned as soon as possible.
Then you should send us a copy of your disclosure along with
your application and all the documents we need.
Unless there are exceptional circumstances, the date on your CRB
disclosure certificate should be no more than 3 months before you
apply for registration.
I got a CSCI counter-signed CRB check for a previous
application for registration, do I need to get another check for a
new application?
We will exercise the discretion to accept a previous CRB check
countersigned by us for a new manager's application or responsible
individual where all of the following apply:
- there has been no break in service
- the new service is provided by the same employer and with the
same service user group
- the previous CRB disclosure included the appropriate POVA or
POCA check
- the reference number on the disclosure certificate that you
supply matches the reference number we recorded on our system when
the certificate was originally received back from CRB
- that the previous disclosure was obtained no more than 12
months ago in relation to adult regulated services or 3 months ago
in relation to children’s regulated services.
How do I know how many staff I
need to employ in the home I am setting up?
The regulations say you have to have suitable staff "in
sufficient numbers" and you must be able to demonstrate this to us
when you apply to register.
The regulations or national minimum standards do not tell you
exactly how many staff you should have or give you a method of
working this out.
You need to take into account a number of things such as:
- your statement of purpose
- the different needs of people using your service
- the way you want to organise the care
- the layout of the building.
You may wish to use a tool to help you make decisions about how
many staff you will need. The Residential Forum has produced a
model and you can get this from the Social Care Association.
We will always look at your statement of purpose and will want
to see evidence that you can provide your service with the staffing
numbers you propose.
I am registered as a manager but I
have got a new job in another service. Can I transfer my
registration or do I have to reapply and be checked out as a fit
person again and come for another interview?
As the law stands at the moment, you are the registered manager
for that specific service only.
If you get a job in another service, then you have to re-apply,
filling in all the application form and paying the fee.
We will then look at what we know about you already and how long
ago we got the information before we decide how much more
information we need.
Some checks will nearly always be repeated (for example the CRB
disclosure and medical reference).
The law requires us to interview you again but we will decide
how wide ranging this needs to be.
We will make sure we are satisfied that you have showed us that
you are 'fit' to run the new service.
We included the idea of being able to keep your registered
status when you move to another service when we consulted about our
modernisation plans, called Inspecting for Better Lives.
However, this needs changes to the law by the Department of
Health. Any changes are unlikely to happen before 2009.
Can I be the manager of two
services at the same time?
This may be possible but you would have to show us how this
would work in practice. This sometimes happens for domiciliary care
agencies where one person manages two branches.
The standards for care homes for older people say that a manager
will be responsible for no more than one home.
So if you want to manage two homes you will have to explain to
us in detail how this can be done.
You will then have to apply for a separate registration for
both.
We will take into account such things as:
- the sizes of the home(s) or agency(s)
- the complexity of the management roles
- the arrangements that are in place when you are not at one
home
- the distance between the services
- the needs of the people who are using each service.
My agency is expanding and we are setting
up a branch office in another town. Do we have to register this as
a separate agency?
The law says that if the activities of an agency are carried on
from more than one branch then each branch has to register as an
agency.
The domiciliary care agencies and nurse agencies guidance logs
on our website give details about what is a branch and this is also
referred to in our guidance for adult placement schemes.
If you have branches in more than one area, an application form
for each one should be sent to the local office for the area where
the branch is. We will need to decide which office will be
regulating each branch, although this is normally the local
office.
This issue was part of our consultation in 2004 on our
modernisation plans, called Inspecting for Better Lives, and is
being considered by the Department of Health. Any changes are
unlikely before 2009.
I run a nurses agency but I also want to
supply domiciliary care staff. Do I need a separate
registration?
Yes. These are two distinct registrations so you have to apply
separately for domiciliary care. The regulations and standards are
different for the two types of agency.
I supply care staff to care
homes but not to people in their own homes. Do I have to register
with you?
No, under the Care Standards Act 2000 you are not required to
register with us.
Employment agencies who fall outside the remit of our
regulations do not have to have a licence under the Employment
Agencies Act 1973 (EAA), neither do they need to register. But they
are expected to comply with the requirements of the EAA and its
regulations which are enforced by the Employment Agency Standards
Inspectorate (EASI).
The application form asks for
a list of staff but we are only just starting recruiting, as the
home won't be open for three months. Can we send the form in
anyway?
You should be ready to be registered when you apply. We would
expect you to have employed at least some of the staff and you
should send the form in with the details of any staff who have been
appointed already and are working at the home or will be when it
opens.
You should also tell us at this point how many staff you intend
to appoint and into which roles.
If you recruit any other staff before registration, you should
send us their details when you have appointed them.
How long will it be before I have to
come for my fit person interview as a manager?
This will usually take place about four weeks after you
apply.
Normally you will be given three weeks notice and you will be
sent a questionnaire to fill in with the letter inviting you for
the interview.
This questionnaire is not a test but one of the ways we find out
more about you.
Will I get told the result of the fit
person interview immediately?
The interview is not a 'pass' or 'fail'. It is one of the ways
we collect information to decide whether you have shown us that you
are 'fit' to carry on or manage a care service.
It is your chance to demonstrate your fitness to be registered
and we want you to be able to show this.
We will tell you if we have concerns or not, but we only make
the decision about fitness when we have considered this with all
the other evidence, such as references and CRB disclosure.
If I don't do very well at my
fit person interview, can I come back for another one?
We do not usually ask someone to come back for a second
interview.
You will only be invited back for another interview if we need
to clarify something you did not get the chance to tell us about at
the interview (although we may do this by phone or letter).
We will not do this just to give you a second chance.
I haven't got all the
information needed to go with my application. Should I send it in
anyway?
No. We can only accept an application if it is complete and
includes all the information we have asked for and the fee.
If you do not send this all in, we will send it back to you and
will not start processing it until it is complete.
I am the only director of our company and
my husband is the company secretary. I also want to be the manager.
Is it possible for me to be the responsible individual and the
manager?
In nearly all cases, the responsible individual should be a
separate person, as they need to supervise the management of the
service on behalf of the company.
The law clearly sees the roles as distinct (although does not
stipulate this).
If there really is no one else who can do this, for example if
your husband only deals with finance and company administration in
his spare time, we can agree for the same person to have both
roles, providing the fitness criteria is met.
We have made recommendations to the Department of Health about
the role of the responsible individual. Any changes to the law are
unlikely until 2009.
My company wants to buy an
existing care home that is owned by another company. Do we have to
apply to register?
If you buy the company and it will continue to exist (if it has
the same company number registered at Companies House) then the
registered person (the company) is still in control of the
home.
This means that there will be no new registration, even if the
directors change.
If your company buys the home but not the company that owned it,
then you will have to apply to us to register your home.
A change of shareholders by itself does not affect the
registration. The regulations say that you have to notify us of
changes of directors and the responsible individual.
What if I change my company
name?
You don't need a new registration if the company is only
changing its name. This falls under Regulation 39 of the Care Home
Regulations 2001 and you need to notify us in writing. If the
company number (held by Companies House) is changing, then this is
a new registration because it is a new company carrying on the
service.
We have been running our care
home for 20 years and our accountant suggests we set up a limited
company to run it. Will we have to re-register?
If you are a partnership or an individual and you want to set up
a limited company to run it, then this is a new 'person' who will
be carrying on the home.
This means that the new company will need to register with us
and pay the appropriate fee before it takes over.
Even though it may be the same people who are the directors of
the company as have been running it before, it will be the company
that is registered, not the individual people.
Can two people job-share a manager's post?
There is nothing to stop two people job-sharing a manager's
post, although they would both have to be registered with us. Both
managers would have to apply to us and both would have to pay the
necessary fee. We would need to know that the management
arrangements meet the requirements in the regulations.
How long will it take once I have put my application in to you
before I am registered?
If you are applying as the provider of a new service we will
normally complete the process and make a decision about your
application within 16 weeks. If you are ready when you apply, then
we will usually be able to resolve your application more quickly
than this.
If you are applying to be registered as a manager then,
if we get the references back quickly and there are no other
delays, we will normally be able to complete the process within 8
weeks.
Applications that are more complex may take us a bit longer to
make a decision about it. If this happens we will let you know if
there is any delay.
When will I have to pay the first annual fee after the service
is registered?
You will get an invoice for the annual fee (which is different
from the fee for registration) when the certificate of registration
is issued, and then every year on the anniversary of the day you
first registered with us.
If the responsible individual changes after the service is
registered, will the new one need to be checked by you?
No. You will need to notify us of the change and have checked
their fitness yourselves.
We will look at the notification and decide whether we need more
information about the checks you did or about their fitness.
We may want to follow this up when we visit your service on an
inspection.
We would carry out checks on the responsible individual if the
organisation applies to register a new service.