Archived decisions
AT A MEETING of the INSPECTION ADVISORY PANEL held at 84-98 Southampton Road, Eastleigh on Tuesday, 5 March 2002
PRESENT
Ms. L. Legg (Chairman); Councillor Mrs. V. Steel (Vice-Chairman); Ms. L. Baird,
Councillor A.G. Dowden; R. Ferguson; Councillor N. Lacey; G. Lewis; Ms. M. Rigg; Councillor Mrs. P.A. West
12 MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 27 November 2001 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
Arising thereon:
(a) Minute No. 8 Update on the Transition Plan
The Chairman said that she had been asked by a Member of Parliament if the Panel would like a Parliamentary Question to be tabled regarding the concerns raised and the lack of response from the Secretary of State.
RESOLVED:
That the Member of Parliament be requested to table a Parliamentary Question.
13 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE ON THE REGISTRATION AND INSPECTION UNIT - 2001
The Director of Social Services presented the Annual Report on the Registration and Inspection Unit - 2001 (Item 2 in the Minute Book). The Department of Health circular required Chief Executives to review the registration and inspection services in their area to ensure that they were, and were seen to be, operating independently of the managers responsible for Social Services provided directly by the local authority and were applying the same standards irrespective of whether care was provided by the local authority or by independent or voluntary organisations.
The report looked specifically at:
- the objectivity with which the Unit applied common standards as between
local authority and independent or voluntary provision
- the success of the Unit in maintaining its independence within the Social
Services Department
- the degree to which inspection reports had been made publicly available
- the effectiveness of follow-up where improvements were found to be
necessary
- the performance of the Unit with respect to the targets set by the
Department of Health for the number of inspections required to be carried
out.
The Chief Executive concluded that the Unit had had a busy year, managing the transition plan and continuing to carry out inspections, registrations, changes of registration and the investigation of complaints. In spite of this the Unit had continued to perform well in respect of the issues considered by the Chief Executive's report. The hard work of the Unit meant that the transfer to the NCSC would be smooth and the providers and users of residential and domiciliary services in the three authorities would continue to receive a good service.
RESOLVED:
That the report be received and noted.
14 FINAL UPDATE ON THE TRANSITION PLAN
The Director of Social Services presented a report giving the final update on the Transition Plan (Item 3 in the Minute Book). It was planned to move into the new offices on 19 March 2002 but it was now thought that this would slip to 28 March to allow necessary work to be completed. Four Locality Manager posts were still unfilled but it was hoped that these would be filled in the next few weeks.
Members expressed concern that no guidance had been given about member and local involvement in the future and requested that a letter be sent to the Chairman of the National Care Standards Commission expressing their concerns.
Members thanked the Registration and Inspection team for their hard work and wished them well for the future.
RESOLVED:
That the Chairman writes to the Chairman of the National Care Standards Commission expressing concern at the lack of guidance on member and local involvement in the future and that copies of that letter be sent to the Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton Directors of Social Services.
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