Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28945.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28945.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28945.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28945.

A review of the range and capacity of community care services for older people in Scotland over the next five, 10 and 15 years is currently under way. This will include a strategic review of care home provision, to identify the most effective way of developing and managing the market to meet the future needs of elderly people throughout Scotland. We are keen to see the correct range of services in place, to take account of future demographic changes and ensure that older people receive appropriate levels of care and are not delayed unnecessarily in hospital. We will carry out this work in partnership with health and local authority colleagues and in consultation with independent sector care home providers and intend this work to form the basis for longer term national and local planning of future developments.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28473.

To help meet this aim registration of the workforce will be phased in over a number of years. The qualifications criteria for registration in phase one, that includes heads of residential care homes and heads of adult day care services, is out to consultation at the moment. Views are sought on a number of questions around the qualifications criteria and everyone has the opportunity to shape the final decision. Phase 2 will incorporate all other staff in residential care settings and a major task now for the Scottish Social Services Council is to set a timescale for its implementation. As part of regulating the workforce there are to be codes of practice and conduct for employees and their employers. These will set out the standards expected of each. For example these will cover expectations of employers in relation to supporting their staff. £3.5 million additional funding has been provided to local authorities to support investment in training and opportunities for career development. We will be asking local authorities to inform us of the training opportunities they make available to the independent sector staff.

The costs of providing care for older people in local authority run care homes is a matter for individual councils. In their report in November 2001 the National Review Group on Care Home Costs stated that independent care homes were being publicly underfunded. To address this issue the Executive has recently committed over £50 million of extra expenditure provision for the sector in the period to 31 March 2003.

The Action Plan for the Social Services Workforce, launched in April 2002, is underpinned by five strategic aims, one of which is "to raise investment and learning and support for all front-line staff in local authorities and the independent sector".To this end a sum of £3.5 million additional funding to local authorities was announced to support investment in training and opportunities for career development. We are writing to local authorities to ask them how they will be using this money and we will also be looking at what opportunities for training they intend to make available to all staff in the independent sector.We are also working closely with the Association of Directors of Social Work which is developing proposals to improve the support for all front-line staff.

The National Review Group Report on Care Home Costs for Older People in Scotland considered various ways of anticipating increases in care home costs. The group concluded that an increase in real terms should be applied to care home fees over the next three years, to take account of various pressures including wage increases. We will, in consultation with local authorities and the independent sector, determine the most appropriate means of uplifting care home fees shortly.