Chamber and committees

I will shortly bring forward regulations on the increased inspection frequency for certain older people’s services which will come into force by the beginning of February. This will be the minimum inspection frequency and the Care Inspectorate will continue to inspect more frequently on the basis of the intelligence it receives through complaints, notifications from providers, local authorities and police and other risk assessment information. These arrangements will ensure that the Care Inspectorate will check whether performance can be sustained or, where required, improved in between inspections irrespective of previous grades.

All parents should have the choice of a range of high quality and affordable childcare and we are working with all sectors and partners to increase the capacity, range and flexibility of childcare services.

The majority of out of school care places are provided by the private and third sector. The Scottish Government has set up a £6.8 million Early Years Early Action fund to support front line delivery of effective early interventions by national third sector bodies. £2.8 million of this went to organisations delivering play or play related services this year. We have also recently announced the first allocation from our £50 million contribution to the Early Years Change Fund to provide £1.5 million per annum over the next three years to create a new Communities and Families Fund. This will support local communities to have a direct route into deciding what services are available locally, including parent and community-led childcare.

All of them are directly involved in a range of inspection activities relating to services in both adult and children’s sectors. This includes registration visits, investigating complaints, enforcement action and inspection visits.

A total cost of £2.7 million has been spent by the Care Inspectorate and its predecessor organisations on Voluntary Early Retirement and Voluntary Early Severance schemes since April 2010.

On 4 October 2011, the Care Inspectorate provided the Health and Sport Committee with an estimate for the costs of the additional staff it would require as a result of the new inspection frequency. The estimated increase is expected to be approximately £400,000.

As I have recently announced, I am taking a number of steps to strengthen the inspection and regulatory regime. However, it is also right that as part of the reorganisation of the inspection regime and the establishment of the Care Inspectorate that we sought to achieve efficiencies and deliver savings.

All of the Care Inspectorates Inspectors are multi-disciplinary and therefore work across the spectre of all care services. All Care Inspectorate Inspectors have completed the Regulation of Care Award or are currently undertaking it.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-03568 on 8 November 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Local government is fully committed to the preventative spend approach and to making an appropriate financial contribution to the Change Fund.

The expenditure in total across the spending review period is £272 million for the Early Years Change Fund.

Sir Ian Kennedy’s report on the recent review of paediatric cardiac surgery at Yorkhill Hospital is awaited. I will consider publication in due course.