Seòmar agus comataidhean

The vast majority of the funding provided to local government by the Scottish Government, including the funding for kinship care allowances, is provided by means of a block grant. It is the responsibility of each local authority to allocate the total financial resources available to it on the basis of local needs and priorities having first fulfilled its statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities including the Scottish Government’s key strategic objectives.

Following the death of a resident of the Elsie Inglis Nursing Home on 18 May 2011 a report was submitted by Lothian and Borders Police to the Procurator Fiscal in Edinburgh. Lothian and Borders Police and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service continue to lead a wide ranging investigation into the circumstances of this death.

The investigation is in partnership with the Health and Safety Executive and the Care Inspectorate, and under the direction of the Health and Safety Division of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. Due to the ongoing investigation there are restrictions as to what we can say on this matter.

I also refer the member to the answer to questions S4W-00276 and S4W-00277
on 9 June 2011; and questions S4W-00279 and S4W-00509 on 15 June 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.

No transfers of established inspection staff took place from the Care Commission, Social Work Inspection Agency and HM Inspectorate of Education on 1 April 2010. These bodies were still operating until 31 March 2011.

However, as at 1 April 2011, the following established inspection staff transferred to the new Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland from those bodies:

Two hundred and sixty four established inspection staff from the Care Commission; 18 established inspection staff from SWIA; and six established inspection staff from HMIE.

On 1 April 2011 the establishment figures for inspection staff at Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland was 286.78 full time equivalent.

Data on the number of kinship carers of looked after children is not held centrally.

As of 31 July 2010 there were 3,172 children living in kinship care arrangements.

Kinship care is when a looked after child is placed by a local authority with an approved kinship carer. The Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009 defines a potential kinship carer as a person who is related to the child or who is known to the child and with whom the child has a pre-existing relationship. A local authority has the power to decide whether to approve such a relative or person as a kinship carer for the child. The 2009 Regulations also set out the requirements and procedures which must be followed when a child is placed with a kinship carer.

No transfers of established staff took place from the Social Work Inspection Agency to Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland or Healthcare Improvement Scotland on 1 April 2010. SWIA was still operating until 31 March 2011, and the new scrutiny bodies SCSWIS and HIS were not established until 1 April 2011.

However, on 1 April 2011 SWIA transferred 25 (24.76 full-time equivalent) established staff to SCSWIS. No staff transferred from SWIA to HIS at that time.

Responsibility for legislation relating to any oversight of the governance of a public limited company whether for community care purposes or not would fall within the “regulation of a business association” reservation in Head C1 of Schedule 5 to the Scotland Act 1998 and is therefore reserved to the United Kingdom Parliament.

The Scottish Government has funded National Services Scotland to produce the outline business case for the National Staff Banks/Erostering. In the meantime, five NHS boards in Scotland have established or are in the process of establishing a board AHP Bank, pending the national bank infrastructure becoming available, to facilitate cross board working.

The Scottish Government has given reassurances about the continuity of care for service users, and is working in close partnership with COSLA, SCSWIS (Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland) and ADSW (Association of Directors of Social Work) through the National Contingency Planning Group.

The group has been set-up to look at the overall preparedness of statutory agencies in addressing unforeseen circumstances that could lead to the disruption of adult care provision in Scotland. This will include any service disruption or cessation that arises from a business closure, an emergency situation or a public health matter.

Continuity of care is being maintained in respect of Choices Care, there is requirement to make inquiries into the decision by Choices Care to enter into administration.