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The Care Inspectorate develops its inspection plan by making a risk-based, intelligence-led assessment of each service. This ensures inspections are targeted, proportionate and effective. A range of factors influence this assessment including the needs of the people who use the service, the profile of the service and the history of that service. Further, inspectors have in-built flexibility to extend the time devoted to the inspection of individual services where they have concerns, where issues emerge during inspection visits or where the Care Inspectorate is notified of specific issues within a service.

For workforce planning purposes, please see the following table detailing average inspection times which are used by the Care Inspectorate to inform staffing and budget allocations:

Average Inspection Hours Care Homes for:

Note: The above is the average inspection hours that are applied where risk has been assessed as medium. Services where risk is assessed as low are likely to receive less inspection time than the above averages and similarly where risk is assessed as high services are likely to receive more inspection time than the above averages.

The Care Inspectorate is currently preparing its Inspection Plan for 2012-13. Under the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 the plan will be consulted on and will also be subject to ministerial approval. Once finalised, the plan will be published on the Care Inspectorate’s website.

As I have recently announced, I will bring forward regulations so that the Care Inspectorate will carry out a minimum of one announced inspection of certain older people’s care services. The forthcoming changes to the inspection frequency will be fed into the development process of the Inspection Plan for 2012-13.

In addition to the inspections scheduled in the plan, 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. The Care Inspectorate also undertakes random sample checks of services over the course of the year. Some care homes will, therefore, require more than one yearly inspection depending on the risk-based and intelligence-led assessment of that service.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-03673 on 17 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.

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.

The Scottish Government is responsible for the development of national procurement policy and guidance in Scotland. NHS National Services Scotland’s National Procurement Division (NHS National Procurement) sits on the National Policy Forum providing input to the development of policy and guidance.

NHS National Procurement support the dissemination of that policy and guidance across NHS health boards.

NHS National Procurement provide advice and contract solutions to all NHSScotland organisations. NHS National Procurement has responsibility for identifying collaborative procurement opportunities across all NHS boards and works collaboratively with the Scottish Government in the development and roll out of cross public sector contracts to all NHS Scotland organisations.

Subject to local agreement on appropriate financial governance arrangements consistent with their Change Plan objectives, it is open to all partnerships to augment their change fund allocations by using supplementary funding from other sources, including local authorities.

The Reshaping Care for Older People Change Fund was established in 2011-12 using a portion of the NHS board uplift resulting from the 2010 Scottish Spending Review. The Fund will continue to be distributed through NHS boards’ baseline funding over its four year lifecycle.

There are no plans at this time.

The Care Inspectorate does not collect data on emergency hospital admissions from care homes.

The Care Inspectorate can cancel registration of a care service in a number of scenarios. It has the power to withdraw registration from care homes where it has served an Improvement Notice and this has not been complied with within the period specified in the notice. It can also cancel registration of a service where the person providing the registered care service ceases to provide the service.

The Care Inspectorate also has expedited powers, to apply to the sheriff (under s65 of the Public Sector Reform (Scotland) Act 2010) for cancellation of the registration of a care service (including care homes) on the basis that unless the order is made “there will be a serious risk to the life, health or wellbeing of persons”. The sheriff has the power to make an interim order, which may include an order suspending registration pending a full hearing.

If necessary, the Care Inspectorate can also impose an emergency condition of registration, which becomes effective immediately and remains in place until removed or successfully challenged on appeal.