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National Care Standards Commission chairperson Anne Parker has warned that it may be unrealistic to expect the new watchdog to pay for itself in the long term.

The commission, which goes live on 1 April, has been given a substantial start-up grant, but the government anticipates it will eventually become self-funding. According to Parker: "At some point, when the market has stabilised, it's not a bad principle that we should earn our bread. However, there's a respectable argument that says there's a public interest in what we do, as well as a provider-sector interest. So a mixed funding base may be a proper long-term objective."

Parker also attempted to allay some of the sector's fears about the launch of the new body, arguing that the commission would take time to find its feet. "The regulation and inspection process is going to unfold gradually, and it's going to be front-loaded towards new registrations." The watchdog would be doing well if it was beginning to deliver consistent results by the middle of its second year in operation, she added.

Its findings would feed into the evolution of the national minimum standards, she said, while promising that any "regulatory absurdities" will be raised with the government.

But she also sounded a note of caution about the way the Social Services Inspectorate and commission operate, arguing that in future their roles should be better co-ordinated and that the two inspectorates should share information about areas of concern. "I'm anticipating that the SSI will alert us to things that they think we need to look at, and vice versa."