Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office, Edinburgh - Briefing Document Fifteen

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Parliamentary Officer:Rev Graham Blount
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Briefing Document No 15 - Page 3 of 4

Regulation of Care - Continued.

3. Education and training
The Council will promote and regulate the education and training of social workers or social service workers. Where appropriate training is not, in the opinion of the Council, available it is up to the Council to secure or provide that training. As part of its powers to approve and monitor the effectiveness of individual training courses in social work, the Council will be able to visit and report on the places delivering this training. The Council may issue grants and pay allowances to enable people to undertake education and training, and make grants to organisations providing approved courses.

Other

It will be the responsibility of the Scottish Executive to ascertain what numbers of social workers and social service workers are required within Scotland and their training needs. The Executive will also be able to make grants to a wide range of organisations or persons involved in child care and family support activities.

Reaction to the Bill

The present fragmented system of registration is divided between local authorities and health boards, and omits such services as local authorities residential and day care provision and home care services. It has a lack of consistency, of integration and of independence (by giving local authorities responsibilities for purchasing, providing and regulating care).

The Bill has emerged from a lengthy consultative process (in which churches have participated); it has been broadly welcomed, particularly for
(i) the drawing up of national care standards which should offer a consistent quality of care throughout Scotland
(ii) better protection for vulnerable groups of people
(iii) the proposed removal of the division between residential and nursing home care and
(iv) the drive towards a better-trained workforce.

Debate on the Bill has so far focussed on (a) the creation of two new bodies as opposed to just one (b) the proposed self-financing of the two bodies (c) the number of inspections (d) transfer of staff and the proposed structure of the Commission

Two Bodies or One?

The Executive see the advantage of having two bodies as ensuring that there is a clear distinction between the regulation of services and the regulation of staff who provide those services. The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA), however, argue that a single body would ensure effective co-operative work; it would also allow a one-stop approach for the public and would cut costs. Generally, the trade unions have made the case for differentiating between the Commission, which will deal with services, and the Council, which will deal with the workers, in order to prevent a conflict of interests. In their report to Parliament, the Health and Community Care Committee (H&CC) seek assurances of effective communication between the two and argue that both should be accountable to the same Minister.

Self-financing

Many have argued that the proposed move to the self-financing of the two new bodies, particularly the Commission, through fee income is unrealistic. It would prompt significant increases in the fee levels, which would place a huge burden on all providers, with smaller, voluntary sector providers likely to be hit hard. The cost of continuing registration of a care home looks likely to rise from the current £65 per place to £120 - £180 per place by 2005; already, fees under the existing system are rising with a view to the costs of the new regulations.