Please see below for the September Policy Update
Please note the policy updates are purely for information,and if you feel that we have misrepresented any facts or statements, please contact Policy Research Officer.
Regulation
New CQC registration requirements
The Care Quality Commission has published information about the registration requirements for all health and adult social care providers of regulated activities. The new requirements will come into force on 1 April 2010 for NHS Trusts, and on 1 October 2010 for adult social care and independent healthcare providers.
Memorandum of Understanding between the CQC and the Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts (Monitor)
This Memorandum of Understanding sets out the framework for the working relationship between the two health service regulators.
CHRE consultation on the public protection function of regulatory bodies’ registers
The Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) is currently consulting on how best to use registers of healthcare professionals for public protection purposes.
Consultation ends 9 October 2009
Sustainable Development Commission review of Public Service Regulators
In a report looking at the Audit Commission, Ofsted, and the Care Quality Commission, the Sustainable Development Commission identifies the strengths and weaknesses of how the regulatory bodies deal with sustainable development, and explores ways of regulating more effectively to promote sustainable development in the wider public sector.
Adult social care
Integrated care pilots
The Department of Health has published this introductory guide to the national pilot scheme, which aims to explore different ways in which services could be integrated to improve outcomes for people using health and social care services.
Children and Young People
Revision of the National Minimum Standards for Adoption, Children’s Homes and Fostering
Ofsted is currently consulting on these National Minimum Standards (NMS) which form the basis of its inspections of adoption, children’s homes and fostering, and of the self-assessments carried out by these services.
Consultation ends 17 December 2009
Study of permanent placement types for children
The Department for Children, Schools, and Families has issued this study of the characteristics, outcomes and meanings of three different types of permanent placement: adoption by strangers, adoption by carers, and long-term foster care.
DCSF evaluation of major interventions in local authority children’s services
This evaluation provides an overview of the impact of five major DCSF interventions in local authority children’s services, which had been judged inadequate by Ofsted. The report compares the reasons for underperformance, and evaluates how successful the different interventions have been in improving performance and outcomes.
Parental Experience of Services for Disabled Children
This report looks at the findings from a second phase of qualitative research, looking at the views of parents on the services they use for their disabled children. It explores in more depth the key findings of the survey which was published last month (see August Policy Update).
Referrals, assessment and children and young people who are the subject of a child protection plan, England - year ending 31 March 2009
The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has published the latest statistics on referrals, assessments, and children and young people on the child protection register.
Workforce and training
Skills for Care launch NQSW Framework
The framework for Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSW), which was developed with input from a number of organisations including the GSCC, was launched on 16 September. The Framework is made up of a number of tools and resources to support both social workers and their managers during the NQSW’s first year in practice.
CWDC induction programme for practitioners in the children’s workforce
This new programme is designed to help new practitioners in the workforce get to grips with their new role, by strengthening their understanding of the Common Core of Skills and Knowledge.
Changes to NMDS: improved data on qualifications and migrant workers
Skills for Care, who hold the National Minimum Data Set for Social Care (NMDS-SC), have announced changes to the fields on the database, which will enable them to build a more accurate picture of the qualifications held by workers in social care, and to gain a better understanding of the state of the migrant social care workforce in England.
BIS reports on access to higher education:
- Widening participation in higher education
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has published this report which gathers international research on widening participation in higher education, and looks at what might work in the English context.
- Young people’s perception of higher education
This longitudinal study of 11 000 young people (mostly aged 17) explores their attitudes and intentions towards higher education.
- Alternative routes into and pathways through higher education
This study looks at the experiences of people taking non-traditional routes into and through higher education, i.e. those who fall outside the category of “students of school leaving age (below 21 years of age) from predominantly A Level backgrounds participating in full time degree course at a university institution”.
Higher education statistics for the UK 2007-08
Statistical release covering all aspects of higher education in the UK.
Statistics on the school workforce in England in January 2009
These are the latest figures covering the school workforce in England, updated from May 2009, showing amongst other things, vacancy rates and the proportion of teachers from minority ethnic groups.
People who use services, their families, and carers
DH vision of public and patient involvement in health and social care services: Putting Patients at the Heart of Care
This newly-published document sets out the Department of Health’s (DH) vision for Public and Patient Engagement (PPE), which aims to ensure that people’s experiences of services are understood, that they are empowered to make decisions, and that they are involved in the design and delivery of care.
Commissioning for Carers
The Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) has published guidance for commissioners of local health and social care services, to improve outcomes for carers, and ensure that they are taken into consideration in the commissioning process.
Employment support for carers
This Department for Work and Pensions commissioned study looks how caring responsibilities impact on carers’ decisions about employment, and what measures might be taken to enable carers to take up and remain in work.
Mental Health
CQC report on mental health acute inpatient services
The Care Quality Commission has published the biggest ever survey of people’s experiences of acute inpatient services. The survey shows that patients often have concerns about their safety when in the care of the trusts (only 45% of respondents said they always felt safe), and that they mostly don’t feel involved enough in decisions about their own care (only 34% felt they were involved enough).
Health
Delivering high quality midwifery care: the priorities, opportunities and challenges for midwives
The Quality of Midwifery Care Project steering group has produced this report on the state of the midwifery profession, as part of the work of the Prime Minister’s Commission on the Future of Nursing and Midwifery in England. The project, which is supported by the Department of Health, came about following the NHS Next Stage Review.
Personalisation
New guidance on direct payments
The Department of Health has issued two new guidance documents, one aimed at local authorities, providing them with updated information on how they might administer and manage direct payments, and the other for recipients or prospective recipients of direct payments.
Guidance for local authorities
Guidance for people who use services
Round-up of current and forthcoming consultations
CHRE consultation on the public protection function of regulatory bodies’ registers
The Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) is currently consulting on how best to use registers of healthcare professionals for public protection purposes.
Consultation ends 9 October 2009
Revision of the National Minimum Standards for Adoption, Children’s Homes and Fostering
Ofsted is currently consulting on these National Minimum Standards (NMS) which form the basis of its inspections of adoption, children’s homes and fostering, and of the self-assessments carried out by these services.
Consultation ends 17 December 2009
FROM PREVIOUS UPDATES
Consultation on Serious Case Review guidance
Following the recommendations of Lord Laming in his recent progress report, the Department for Children, Schools and Families is proposing changes to the guidance on Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) to: clearly set out that the prime purpose for an SCR is to learn lessons both at an individual and inter-agency level; emphasise the importance that SCRs are undertaken in a way that promotes learning and; extend the suggested timescale for completing an SCR from four to six months.
Consultation ends 23 October 2009
Consultation on the Common Core
The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) is consulting on the Common Core, which is the set of skills and knowledge that everyone working with children, young people and families should have around effective communication and engagement; child and young person development; safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child; supporting transitions; multi-agency working and sharing information.
Consultation ends 30 October 2009
Consultation on the Shaping the Future of Social Care Together Green Paper
This Green Paper sets out the Government’s vision for a new care and support system, in the form of a National Care Service which is fair, simple and affordable.
Consultation ends 13 November 2009
Consultation on the regulation of acupuncturists, herbal medicine practitioners and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners
The four UK Health Departments are seeking views on proposals to regulate acupuncturists, herbal medicine practitioners and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners. The consultation paper explains the different regulatory options available, and draws on both the work of the DH Steering Group on the statutory regulation of acupuncture, herbal medicine and TCM and the Regulation White Paper Working Group on Extending Professional Regulation.
Consultation ends 2 November 2009