§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what guidance he is proposing to issue to local authorities on the day care review duty in the current legislation relating to the registration of day care and other provision for young children; [12022]
(2) what plans he has to amend existing guidance relating to registration standards and requirements relating to the registration of day care and other provision for young children; [12111]
(3) when he last issued guidelines to local authorities in Scotland regarding registration procedures governing premises for day care for young children; [12018]
(4) what plans he has to clarify the general purpose and application of guidance in the existing legislation relating to the registration of day care and other provision for young children. [12021]
544W
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 26 January 1996]: Statutory provisions dealing with the registration and inspection of those who provide child minding and day care for children under eight are set out in part X of the Children Act 1989. That part of the Act which came into force in October 1991 extends to Scotland.
To assist local authorities in the discharge of their duties and responsibilities under that part of the Act, the Scottish Office issued guidance to local authorities in June 1991.
A minor amendment to the 1989 Act was made in the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. This and further detailed amendments are planned on supervised activities and holiday play schemes will make it necessary to modify current guidance.
§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what priority local authorities are obliged to accord to(a) their estimate of local need and (b) the official regulations when deciding whether to close existing local day care places for young children; what estimate he has made of compliance with the guidance; and what assessment he has made of the stringency of that guidance. [12113]
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 26 January 1996]: Registration of day care for young children under eight is governed by part X of the Children Act 1989. Section 71 empowers local authorities to refuse registration if they are satisfied about certain things specified in that section. Section 74 gives local authorities a power to cancel registration in certain specified circumstances. Under section 77, authorities are required to give not less than 14 days notice of their intention to refuse an application or to cancel registration. The person receiving such a notice may object to the step being taken and may appeal against it to the court. Section 75 also gives local authorities a power to apply, in cases of emergency, to the court to cancel a person's registration forthwith. The Scottish Office guidance issued in June 1991 draws attention to the statutory powers available to local authorities in this respect.
§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the sanctions available to social work departments to refer matters to the procurator fiscal when they believe that registration requirements are being breached. [12103]
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 26 January 1996]: Failure to comply with the requirements of registration by a local authority of facilities may be an offence under the relevant statute, for example, where day care of young children is concerned, under section 78 of the Children Act 1989. If a local authority believes that an offence has been committed it may report the matter to the police or to the procurator fiscal.
§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if the provisions of the Department of Health local authority circular on the Children Act 1989 and day care for young children registration No. LAC(93)1 have been translated into similar guidance for local authorities in Scotland. [12017]
545W
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 26 January 1996]: Circular LAC(93)1 was issued by Department of Health for local authorities in England. It does not apply in Scotland. The extant Scottish guidance entitled "Regulation and Review of Childminding, Day Care and Education Services for Children under 8—Guidance for Local Authorities" was issued here in June 1991.
§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy in respect of expansion of day care facilities for young people. [12019]
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 26 January 1996]: The policy of the Scottish Office is to promote expansion of day care provision through public, private and voluntary agencies and individuals. The number of day care places for children under five in Scotland has increased by over 40 per cent.—from 92,000 in 1984 to 131,000 in 1994. The Scottish Office has assisted that expansion through its support under the urban programme and through grants under section 10 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. Local enterprise companies are also now funding child care projects for children under five and also for older children. Expansion of services is further assisted by the tax concessions which are available to employers providing work place child care facilities.
§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the number of day care facilities for young children which have been closed by local authorities in Scotland over the last three years because they have failed to meet the physical and staffing requirements set by local authorities. [12020]
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 26 January 1996]: The data requested are not collected centrally. Local authority reviews under the Children Act 1989, which covered the period October 1991 to October 1994, indicated that very few registrations had been cancelled because of failure to meet the physical or staffing requirements set by local authorities.
§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if guidance currently available from his Department prescribes legally required standards for registration. [12112]
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 26 January 1996]: Guidance issued by the Scottish Office to local authorities as registration authorities under various statutes advises local authorities on how the legislation should be implemented. The guidance may also suggest standards which should be adopted as a matter of good practice. If such standards or other standards are made a requirement of registration, failure to comply may be an offence.
§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland in what ways specific requirements set unilaterally by local social work departments governing the registration of individual premises for day care facilities are enforceable. [12104]
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 26 January 1996]: Under part X of the Children Act 1989, which deals with registration of day care for young children, local authorities must impose such reasonable 546W requirements as they consider appropriate when registering an applicant for registration. The requirements, set out in section 73 are concerned with the number of children who may be looked after, maintenance and safety of the premises and equipment, records and notification of changes. Authorities may also impose further requirements, provided these do not conflict with the requirements in that section. Section 78 makes it an offence where a registered person without reasonable excuse contravenes or otherwise fails to comply with any requirement imposed under section 73.