Report to the People
Regulation of Care
There are many stages of our lives when we need a little help looking after ourselves. When we're very young, old, unwell, or our family is unable to care for us, we may require some form of residential care.
Tens of thousands of people throughout Scotland currently reside in care and it is therefore important that we ensure the services they receive are of the highest quality.
Unfortunately, the system for ensuring high standards of care has many flaws. It is fragmented, does not apply to all types of care and is ineffective in services for very young children. There is no consistency across the country and health and social work authorities are left to inspect their own services. Staff working in the field may be tightly regulated by national standards or, indeed, not regulated at all.
In the extreme, this system has led to deeply distressing reports of abuse of the young, the mentally handicapped and the elderly which have been well reported in the media.
The need to improve the care residents receive is not in dispute.
The Regulation of Care Bill, which was debated in the chamber last week, will set standards for all care services and regulate the workforce. Two new bodies will be set up - the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care and the Scottish Social Services Council.
The Commission will ensure that the focus of regulation is on the people who need these services, rather than the buildings which house them. It will be responsible for services such as early education, childcare, day care, care homes and many more.
It is likely that fostering and adoption agencies will be also brought under the scope of the bill, bringing the number of services regulated by the Commission to over 16,000.
The second body, the Council, will concentrate on those who work in the care professions. It will, for example, publish codes of practice for staff, establish registers for particular groups of staff and regulate the education and training of social workers.
I am pleased to report that these reforms have all party support and, thanks to an exhaustive consultation process carried out by the parliamentary committees, have been warmly welcomed by those organisations who work in this field.
I look forward to this bill being passed. After all, I never know when I may need it.
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