§ Mr. Bill WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to receive the report from the working group on residential care home registration procedures; and if he will make a statement. [39973]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe working group recently submitted its report to my right hon. Friend and copies will be placed in the Library of the House and distributed widely among interested bodies. The report makes a large number of recommendations for change under three main groups: guidance and administrative action, subordinate legislation and primary legislation. The Government have a duty to ensure that people in residential care are properly looked after and that high standards of care prevail and we therefore propose that work be put in hand now to take forward a substantial number of these recommendations straight away.
We accept and have already begun work on the guidance recommendations. These cover closer working arrangements between local authorities and health boards, particularly the development of joint inspection units, training, pre-registration activity and registration criteria including those for supported housing and, subject to further consideration, cancellation procedures and the removal of residents from homes. In addition, we propose to take forward the recommendations for setting up a national consultative group to devise and promote nationally recommended guidelines and quality of care standards and for a national list of persons whose registration has been refused or cancelled. The recommendations requiring subordinate legislation will also be taken forward, notably reviewing the prescribed form of application for registration, Scottish Criminal Record Office checks, notification of change of key personnel and maintenance of residents' records. These changes, taken together, will help clarify local authority procedures and promote good practice.
The usual consultations with the appropriate bodies will be undertaken on all of these matters. We will also consider very carefully those recommendations which are dependent on primary legislation. Some are quite far-reaching such as the recommendation that the manager of a care home should not also be a resident's GP or professional adviser. Others are designed to simplify and streamline existing procedures. We intend to consult fully on these proposals before reaching a firm view.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the commitment of the members of the working group and the helpful and co-operative way which they went about their task.