NATIONAL CARE STANDARDS COMMITTEE MEETING
Conference Room 2, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, Monday 23 February 2004
Note of the Meeting
Present: Adam Rennie (Chair), Marjory Barquist (Secretary), Colin Anderson, Pek Yeong Berry, Lorraine Briggs, Gerald Byrne, Pat Dawson, Sean Doohan. Janet Law, Gordon Masterton, Jim McDonald, Jan Miller, Roy Patterson, Janis Pelosi, David Purdy, Jacquie Roberts, Frances Smith and Carol Wilkinson.
1. Apologies
Apologies were received from: Janie Allan, Doreen Campbell, Val Cox, Margaret Davidson, Linda Gregson, Robert Houtmann, Jacqueline Hughes, Mary McCann, David Soutar, Margaret Watt and David Whiteoak.
2. Welcome
Adam Rennie welcomed everyone to the tenth meeting of the National Care Standards Committee. David Purdy was deputising for Val Cox and Jan Miller was attending with Carole Wilkinson. Jan would now replace Carole on the Committee.
3. Note of Last Meeting and Matters Arising
3.1 Draft dental services Standards. The draft Standards went to NHS QIS working group for clearance at the end of January, we then met with NHS QIS colleagues and agreed the changes. The Standards are now ready to go forward to Ministers for clearance before going out for consultation. The Consultation paper will issue in March and it is thought that the consultation will last 6 months.
3.2 NCS qualifications and Private Fostering. These items are both on the Agenda to be discussed later.
3.3 Review of the Standards. It was agreed this be discussed under AOCB.
3.4 Care Commission presentation. Jacquie commented that the Care Commission are happy to provide a presentation. The Secretariat agreed to discuss this with the Commission and agree a date for the presentation at a future meeting.
3.3 The notes of the last meeting were agreed.
4. Private Fostering (Paper 1)
4.1 Jacquie Roberts talked the Committee through Paper 1. The paper summarises proposals for the Care Commission to regulate local authorities in there function of overseeing private fostering arrangements. There was a strong belief that we shouldn't have standards but the Care Commission should regulate as set out in the legislation. The Local Authorities approved this proposal. In the 1st year of regulation the Care Commission along with the S.E. would concentrate on raising the awareness on the statutory requirements and make it clear the local authority should know about any child fostered. The Commission would also be asking Local Authorities what they are doing local to promote awareness of private fostering. There was no rush to establish Standards, we would make local authorities aware and commence along with adoption and fostering in April 2004. The commission are looking for the S.E. to help with this. Jacquie also commented that the Commission had set up a pilot exercise in Glasgow, West and East Lothian to see how the regulation and awareness raising of private fostering will work.
4.2 Gerald Byrne from the Education department had joined the meeting as he was the policy lead in the SE for Private Fostering and had been working closely with the Care Commission on this. Gerald was organising the contract for a public information leaflet to raise the awareness of private fostering arrangements. The leaflet should issue in March. A wider review on adoption and fostering law including private fostering was currently going on. It was difficult to think about what we needed until this review was complete.
5. National Care Standards- Qualifications (Paper 2)
6. Care Services Table (Paper 3)
7. Awareness of the National Care Standards
8. AOCB
8.1 Review of the National Care Standards.
9. Dates of next meeting
9.1 The next meeting is scheduled for Monday 29th March 2004 in Conference Room 2, Victoria Quay from 10.30am .