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Health and Social Care Bill

moved Amendment No. 103A: 103A: Clause 57, page 28, line 26, at end insert— ““( ) The Secretary of State may, after consulting the Commission, by regulations make provision specifying conditions which would result in additional inspections for the purposes of the Commission’s functions under Chapter 2.”” The noble Baroness said: The amendment builds on the concerns already expressed by a number of noble Lords, not only during the Second Reading debate, but in our discussions on the Bill, about the additional safeguards needed for those using social care facilities. It addresses the difficult issue of the frequency and circumstances in which inspections are carried out in the social care sector. We already know that the moves towards lighter-touch regulation will further reduce on-site inspections from annual or twice-yearly to more periodic reviews. However, we continue to have an overriding duty of care to the most vulnerable people using, in particular, residential social care, who are less likely to have observant family and friends acting on their behalf and are less likely to complain about standards for fear of the consequences. This issue becomes even more critical when a wider variety of providers is entering the social care market. The amendment would allow the Secretary of State by regulation to identify specific conditions which would trigger automatic additional inspections. This would need to be done in consultation with the commission. These conditions would be linked to circumstances in which it is known that deterioration is more likely. We already know some of those risk factors. They could include a change of ownership, a change of registered manager, adult protection proceedings on an individual who is in receipt of care at the premises, or an unexplained increase in staff turnover. Other conditions may be new factors that come to light in the application of the new provisions of the Act and the increasing competition in the market. That is why giving the Secretary of State the powers to add conditions by regulation will provide flexibility in the application of the inspection regime in the future and will give some additional reassurance to service users and their families. I beg to move.