The Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 (Minimum Frequency of Inspections) Order 2009

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends section 25(5) of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 (“the Act”). It amends the minimum frequency within which the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care (“the Care Commission”) must carry out inspections of certain care services under the Act.

Article 3 of the Order revokes the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 (Minimum Frequency of Inspections) Order 2007 which had made earlier amendments to section 25 of the Act.

Section 25(3) and (5) of the Act provide for two inspection regimes. The first covers care home services, school care accommodation services, secure accommodation services and independent healthcare services which provide overnight accommodation registered under Part 1 or Part 2 of the Act. Under the first regime, the Care Commission must secure that those services are inspected at least twice in the period of 12 months immediately following registration and at least twice in each subsequent 12 month period. At least one inspection in each of those two periods must be without prior notification. Article 4 of this Order amends the periods in the first regime. The 12 month period is extended for school care accommodation services and independent healthcare services, which provide overnight accommodation, reducing the frequency with which the Care Commission must inspect these services;

• to twice in the period of 24 months immediately following registration, and twice in every 48 month period thereafter, in respect of school care accommodation services; and

• to twice in the period of 24 months immediately following registration, and twice every 24 months thereafter, in respect of independent healthcare services which provide overnight accommodation, the periods for care homes and secure accommodation services are unchanged.

The second regime applies to any other care service registered under Part 1 or Part 2 of the Act. Under the second regime, the Care Commission must inspect such a care service at least once in the period of 12 months immediately following registration and for subsequent periods after that must ensure that no greater period than 12 months elapses before the care service is inspected again.

Article 5 of this Order amends the periods in the second regime. Both 12 month periods are extended as follows for the following care services, reducing the frequency within which the Care Commission must inspect those services–

(a) to 36 months for housing support services which are not provided in conjunction with any other form of care service; and

(b) to 24 months for–

• Day care of children provided for children aged 3 years or over only;

• Child care agencies;

• Nurse agencies; and

• Child minding.

The minimum periods for inspection of all other care services under the second regime remain at 12 months.