APPENDIX 29
Letter from Stephen Ladyman MP, Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health to Chairperson,
National Care Standards Commission (21B)
REGISTRATION OF
DOMICILIARY CARE
AGENCIES
I am very grateful for the information and briefings
provided to me by the Commission on this subject.
I am writing now both to express my undersanding
of the current position and to stress the importance I attach
to carrying out the Commission's plans for registration of additional
domiciliary care agencies by the end of March 2004. A smooth hand-over
to enable follow-up by the Commission for Social Care Inspection
(CSCI) from 1 April 2004 is also vital.
I understand that the domiciliary care sector
is new to regulation and that a considerable effort was required
for the Commission to work with and educate providers before and
during the registration process. The registration process has
not always been smooth.
At 11 February, 710 domiciliary care agencies
had been registered out of 4,000 applications received by the
Commission. The Commission expects to have registered about 2,800
agencies by the end of March, or 70% of applications. The CSCI
will need to complete processing of the remaining 1,200 applications.
It is important to note that registration is
a structured process, involving not only exchange of information
but also at least one visit by an inspector and a discussion with
the agency's responsible manager. The Commission has issued guidance
to inspectors to aid the registration process. It is clear that
the requirements of the Domiciliary Care Agencies Regulations
must be met for an agency to be registered. The Commission's guidance
seeks to ensure consistency in the registration process. National
Minimum Standards for Domiciliary Care must be taken into account
in interpreting the Domiciliary Care Agencies Regulations, but
are not in themselves legal requirements. It is also important
to ensure consistent interpretation of the National Minimum Standards
and the ways in which these are taken into account. I understand
that the Commission has mechanisms to engage with the concerns
of providers, and service users, and these are being used to help
ensure consistency in registration processes across the country.
The Commission's guidance seeks to ensure that
only those agencies not posing a serious risk to service users
are registered, and spells out what this means. I strongly support
this.
I attach great importance to the need to raise
standards in the domiciliary care sector, recognising that this
may need to be pursued over time in some cases. Where the Commission
registers domiciliary care agencies with conditions, I trust that
the CSCI will be in a good position to follow this up.
I recognise the difficult managerial task of
carrying through such vital work in the last months of the Commission's
life and am grateful for the commitment shown by you and the Commission's
managers and staff.
Registration of domiciliary care agencies is
a matter of public interest and was discussed at the Health Select
Committee's hearing on abuse of older people on 22 January. I
am copying this letter to the David Hinchliff, MP, Chair of the
Health Select Committee.
11 February 2004
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