(1)Where the Commission has given an improvement notice to a local authority in respect of a care service provided by them and registered under this Part and the authority determine that the service is one which they must provide in order to fulfil a statutory duty, they shall within fourteen days after receiving the notice notify that determination to the Commission; and the authority shall append to the notification a statement of their reasons for so determining.
(2)On receiving notification under subsection (1) above, the Commission shall as soon as practicable send a copy of the improvement notice to the Scottish Ministers together with a copy of the notification, of the appended statement and of a note of any reason the Commission has for not agreeing with the authority’s determination.
(3)On receiving an improvement notice sent under subsection (2) above, the Scottish Ministers shall state whether or not, in their opinion, the determination of the authority is justified; and if their statement is that the determination is justified, the care service shall be deemed, for the purposes of any application of the provisions of this Act which follows on from the giving of an improvement notice, to be a care service duly registered not under Part 1 but under Part 2 of this Act (the improvement notice itself being deemed duly given under subsection (1)(b) of section 10 of this Act and not under subsection (1)(a) of that section).