Care Standards Act 2000

This Act implements a number of proposals, listed in the Explanatory Note to the Act  including the report of Sir Ronald Waterhouse “Lost in Care – The Report of the Tribunal of Inquiry into the abuse of children in care in the former county council areas of Gwynedd and Clwyd since 1974” (published in February 2000).

The Act:-

• Establishes a new, independent regulatory body for social care and private and voluntary healthcare services in England – the National Care Standards Commission
• Provides for an arm of the National Assembly for Wales to be the equivalent regulatory body for such services in Wales
• Establishes new, independent Councils to register social care workers, set standards in social care work and regulate the education and training of social workers in England and Wales. In England this is the General Social Care Council and in Wales it will be the Care Council for Wales.
• Establishes an office of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales
• Reforms the regulation of childminders and day care provision for young children
• Provides for the Secretary of State to maintain a list of individuals who are consider unsuitable to work with vulnerable adults

The Act is set out in nine Parts.

Part I sets out various definitions of establishments and introduces a new system of registration for children’s homes with the National Care Standards Commission.

A children’s home is defined in Section 1 as an establishment which provides care and accommodation mainly for children. (Section 1(2)). Foster homes, hospitals, holiday homes and certain hostels for apprentices are excluded. Small children’s homes i.e. homes accommodating fewer than four children are exempt from registration but they are required to register with the local authority. (Section 40).

Section 2 sets out a range of independent healthcare institutions, which are required to register.

Section 3 defines care homes for the disabled and infirm. Homes that provide care for disabled children are to be treated as children’s homes.

Section 4 defines residential family centres, domiciliary care agencies, fostering agencies, nurses’ agencies and voluntary adoption agencies.

Part II makes provision for registration, the registration procedure, regulations and standards, offences and miscellaneous provision. Powers are given to the appropriate Minister to make provision as respects management and staffing, fitness of premises and the conduct of any services regulated under Part II. This power does not apply to adoption agencies that continue to be regulated under the Adoption Act 1976.

The appropriate Minister can also issue national minimum standards for England and Wales applicable to all regulated services.

Section 12 sets out who may apply for registration. Sections 12, 13 and 14 set out the conditions for refusal, grant and cancellation of registration. Section 21 provides for an appeal to the Tribunal established under section 9 of the Protection of Children Act 1999.

Section 31 provides for inspections to be carried out and Section 33 provides for regulations to be made requiring an establishment to make an annual return.

Part III concerns local authority fostering and adoption services. All such services should be required to meet the same standards.

Sections 45 and 46 provide for the inspection of such services. Obstruction or failure to comply with inspection requirements without reasonable excuse is a punishable offence. Action may be taken following an inspection.

Section 48 provides for regulation of relevant fostering and adoption functions.

Section 49 empowers the appropriate Minister to prepare and publish national minimum standards for local authority adoption and fostering services.

Section 50 mirrors section 33, in that it makes provision for annual returns to be made by the local authority in relation to its adoption and fostering services.

Part IV concerns the functions and procedures of the General Social Care Council and the Care Council for Wales. These Councils will maintain registers of social workers.

Section 54 gives the Councils power to cooperate with each other and also other regulatory bodies.

Section 61 makes it an offence to describe oneself as a social worker, if not registered.

Section 62 concerns the Councils’ responsibility to set out and promulgate codes of practice.

Sections to 63 to 66 are about education and training. The Councils will take over regulation of professional social work training from the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work (CCETSW).

Part V establishes the Children’s Commissioner for Wales and sets out his powers and duties.

Part VI inserts a new Part XA in the Children Act 1989 which provides for childminding and day care for young children in England and Wales. The Secretary of State is given powers to make regulations governing the activities of registered providers and introduces a requirement to publish inspection reports.

Section 79A defines the child care providers covered by Part XA. A child minder is defined as any person who is paid to look after a child or children under the age of eight on domestic premises. Nannies are excluded from this definition unless they care for children in more than one home. Certain informal babysitting arrangements are also excluded. A childminder who works between 6 p.m and 2 a.m is not required to register, nor is someone who is providing no more than 2 hours per day.

Under section 79B, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspection of Schools (in England) and the National Assembly (in Wales) are responsible for the regulation of day care and child minding.

Sections 79D to 79M deal with registration requirements, suspension and cancellation, as well as the power of the registration authority to take enforcement steps.

Section 79N onwards describes the inspection regime in England and Wales.

Section 79W enables regulations to be made for those who provide care for children aged eight and over for more than five hours per week. Providers are required to hold a valid certificate of suitability for themselves and others on the premises.

Section 79(2) gives effect to Schedule 3, which inserts a new Schedule 9A into the Children Act 1989. Parargraphs 1, 2 and 3 of that Schedule disapply certain schools and other establishments from Part XA.

Paragraph 4 of Schedule 3 provides for regulations to be made for the disqualification of a person from registering as a childminder.

Part VII deals with the protection of children and vulnerable adults. It introduces provisions whereby the Secretary of State will establish and operate a list of persons who are considered unsuitable to work with vulnerable adults. Providers of care services, including care homes, domiciliary care agencies and prescribed services within the NHS and independent health settings, will be required to refer children for inclusion within the list. This includes employment agencies and businesses (Section 83).

Provision is also made for registration authorities to refer children for inclusion in both the list kept under section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1999 and the list under this Part of the Care Standards Act 2000 (“The Protection of Vulnerable Adults List”).

Section 80 defines care workers. Subsection 6 of that section defines vulnerable adults and subsection 7 defines the providers of care services.

Section 81 lays a duty on the Secretary of State to keep the relevant list. Subsections 4 to 7 sets out the process by which a person is placed on the list. There is an appeal process and a procedure for removing a name from the list.

Section 90 amends sections 113 and 115 of the Police Act 1997. The Criminal Records Bureau will be empowered to provide a person on the Protection Vulnerable Adults List with a copy of his criminal convictions including information as to whether he is on that list or not.

Section 91 sets out a search facility of the Protection Vulnerable Adults List for prospective or present employers.

Section 92 provides that a person considered unsuitable to work with children under the Protection of Children Act 1999 can also be considered for inclusion on the Protection of Vulnerable Adults List.

Section 94 inserts a new section into the Protection of Children Act 1999 to extend the application of that Act to employment businesses. There are further amendments to the 1999 Act in order to extend its provisions.

Section 99 amends section 3 of the Protection of Children Act 1999 to enable names held on the Consultancy Service Index to be transferred to the Protection of Children Act List.

Section 100 amends the Education Act 1996 to provide for the disqualification from working in an independent school of persons who are unsuitable to work with children.

Section 101 amends the Protection of Children Act 1999 so as to require child care organisations to check that potential employees are not disqualified from working in independent schools.

Section 102 – it is intended that when Part V of the Police Act 1997 comes into force, checks against the exclusion list established under the Protection of Children Act 1999 can be made through the Criminal Records Bureau.

Section 104 deals with checks to be made on prospective adoptive parents.

Part VIII contains miscellaneous provisions

Section 105 extends section 87 of the Children Act 1989 to all schools and educational colleges with boarding provision. It imposes a duty on proprietors and governing bodies to ensure that effective arrangements are in place for the welfare of all children accommodated at a boarding school.

Section 107 inserts a new section 87C into the Children Act 1989 making provision for minimum standards that schools and colleges accommodating children must comply with.

Section 110 extends the scope of Part IX of the Children Act 1989, in relation to fostered children at independent boarding schools, to all schools.

See here: Care Standards Act 2000