Funding worries for merged body

The Commission for Social Care Inspection will go live next week
but concerns have been raised about the size of its budget.

A spokesperson for the CSCI said it was likely that cash used for
the Social Services Inspectorate, the National Care Standards
Commission and the joint review strand of the Audit Commission,
which the CSCI replaces, would be used to fund the new inspection
body. However, this had not been confirmed.

President of the Association of Directors of Social Services Andrew
Cozens said he welcomed the creation of the single social care
inspectorate but had reservations over whether it would be properly
resourced.

The CSCI will be responsible for inspecting all social care,
reporting to parliament on the state of the sector, and publishing
councils’ star-ratings. It will also be responsible for advising
ministers on the impact of government policies, on appropriate
intervention when a council fails to provide an adequate service,
and on how best to assess performance.