14 November 1969

Dear Colleague

SOCIAL WORK (SCOTLAND) ACT 1968

REGISTRATION OF ESTABLISHMENTS (SCOTLAND) ORDER 1969 [ The 1969 Order has been revoked and replaced by the Registered Establishments (Application Form) (Scotland) Order 1988 (See Circular No SWSG16/88, paragraph 52).]

Summary

This Circular explains the requirements for registration for residential and other establishments set out in Sections 61 to 64 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. The new arrangements are effective from 17 November. This Circular should be read in tandem with Circular SWSG16/88, which deals with the Registered Establishments (Scotland) Act 1987.

Outline of Statutory Provisions

Section 61 of the Act provides that certain residential and other establishments shall not be carried on unless registered with the local authority or the Secretary of State. The scope of the requirement for registration is discussed in paragraphs 8-11 below.

Section 62(1) provides that the application for registration shall be made by the person intending to carry on the establishment and that it shall be made to the local authority for the area in which the establishment is situated. Applications should not be made to the local authority for the area of the head office of the organisation providing the establishments, unless the establishment itself is situated in that area.

Section 62(2) enables the Secretary of State to prescribe the form in which applications for registration shall be made. The application form is designed to provide general information about the establishment concerned, and would normally require to be supplemented by a visit before a decision is taken on the application.

Section 62(3) and (45) inter alia states grounds upon which the local authority may refuse to register an applicant or may cancel a registration; and the remainder of this section sets out certain conditions of registration and deals with related matters.

Section 63 provides that the Secretary of State may direct that applications for registration in respect of certain establishments or classes of establishment shall be made to him. The Secretary of State does not propose to exercise this power meantime.

Section 64 sets out the procedure for notification of, and appeals against, refusal or cancellation of registration. Appeal is to a tribunal to be constituted in accordance with Schedule 5 to the Act.

The types of establishment which require to be registered

8. The establishments in respect of which registration is necessary are in the words of the Act, "any residential or other establishment the sole or primary object of which is to accommodate persons for the purposes of the Act whether for profit or not". The purposes of the Act" are the purposes in general terms and the requirements of this legislations reaches out beyond those of the registration requirements of the former legislation now repealed.

9. The establishments in respect of which registration is necessary include -

i. Establishments in the Act required to be registered under Section 61 of the 1968 Act

Homes for children

Homes for old persons

Homes for disabled persons

Homes and hostels for mentally disordered persons (excluding nursing homes)

ii. Establishments not previously required to be registered

Day training centres for mentally disordered persons.

Day centres for mentally disordered children who have been reported by the education authority to the local authority as unsuitable for education or training in a special school (special schools and occupational centres grant- aided by the Scottish Education Department are not affected by the 1968 Act).

Day centres for physically disabled persons including blind and deaf persons.

Day care centres for the elderly (excluding social clubs).

Types of establishment not requiring registration under the Social Work (Scotland) Act

10. Premises controlled or managed by, or required under any other Act to be registered with, a Government Department or a local authority are exempt from the registration requirements. Examples of such premises are -

i. Hospital Board premises including hostels and day centres;

ii. Centres provided by the Department of Employment and Productivity, and the Department of Health and Social Security;

iii. Nursing homes registered under the Nursing Home Registration (Scotland) Act 1938;

iv. Premises registered under the Nurseries and Child-Minders Registration Act 1948;

v. Lodging houses registered under the Public Health (Scotland) Act 1987;

vi. Independent schools ie establishments providing full-time education or training for 5 or more school age children (other than children reported to the local authority under section 66B of the Education (Scotland) Act 1962 as suffering from a disability or a mental disorder to such an extent as to make them unsuitable for education or for training whether by ordinary methods of education or by special education, which are required to be registered as independent schools);

vii. Sheltered workshops provided under section 3 of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1958 and;

viii. Establishments managed by the local authority itself.

11. Local authorities may be approached by persons carrying on or working to set up other kinds of establishments for advice on whether they are subject to the registration requirements and, in these cases, the local authority will have to use its own judgement on the information provided. There will doubtless be difficult borderline cases and in such cases, the local authority would be advised to consider the premises for registration provisions, the possible financial and other implications for the applicant, and the fact that breach of the provisions is an offence, it is essential that the local authority should ensure that advice and decisions are given at an appropriate level and that consistency is achieved.

Voluntary Children’s Homes

12. Voluntary children’s homes are at present registered with the central department, but under the new Act the persons carrying on these homes will require to be registered with the local authorities. A list of homes in the local authority’s area at present registered with the central department will be sent to you shortly. Whereas the homes registered centrally have been limited to these "supported fully or partly by voluntary contributions", this limitation will not apply in future and a person running a home for children without the backing of a voluntary organisation on voluntary contributions will in future be registrable with the local authority.

Approved Schools

13. Approved schools are not affected by the coming into operation of Part IV of the Act. Paragraph 1(2) of the Transitional Provisions in Schedule 7 to the Act excludes approved schools from the registration provisions until Part III of the Act comes into operation towards the end of 1970. Voluntary managers of establishments which were previously approved schools will then be deemed to be registered with the Secretary of State pending registration under the new provisions, which is required within 2 years of Part III coming into operation.

Transitional Provisions

14. Paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 7 provides that registration under the existing Acts repealed by the new Act shall be deemed to be registration under the new Act for a period of 2 years, or until registration has been effected or refused under the new Act, whichever is the earlier. The 2 year period of grace also applies to persons running establishments at 16 November which are not registrable under any existing enactment. Persons already registered or deemed to be registered should however be encouraged to apply for registration under the new Act as soon as possible, as it will be essential that the re-registration shall have been made before a period of 2 years has expired. This may be more difficult in relation to those establishments in respect of which registration has not been hitherto required but is necessary in future. These provisions will enable local authorities to phase the work of registration in respect of existing establishments.

15. This period of grace will not apply to any establishments which are set up for the purposes of the Act, or whose use is changed to a different purpose of the Act, after 17 November 1969. Persons proposing to set up or change the use of their establishments will be required to secure their registration before giving effect to their proposal.

Publicity

16. The Social Work Services Group are arranging press publicity and will produce a pamphlet to be available in local government offices and other public places informing the general public of the introduction of the new registration arrangements as from 17 November, and this publicity itself will go some way to drawing the attention of persons concerned to the need for registration under the Act. The local authority may itself wish to supplement these efforts in order to ensure that persons setting up new establishments apply for registration and that as soon as possible and certainly before the expiry of the 2 year period of grace, existing establishments which require to be registered under the Act have in fact been considered for registration.

Removal of persons from establishments

17. Section 65 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 confers powers upon a local authority - either on their own initiative or on being required by the Secretary of State - to remove persons from an establishment where there ought to be registration but there is not, or where there is registration, notice to cancel it has been given. This is essentially an emergency power designed to enable actions to be taken where there is serious danger to the persons in the establishment from hazards such as fire, inadequate hygiene, serious neglect or ill-treatment.

Contact Point

18. A copy of this circular is enclosed for the Director of Social Work. Please direct any enquiries about the content of this Circular to Mr Trevor Hall, Social Work Services Group, Room 44, James Craig Walk, Edinburgh EH1 3BA (telephone 0131 244 5455).

Yours faithfully

GAVIN ANDERSON