Commentary Part 8 – Inspections Chapter 7 – Miscellaneous and supplementary Section 155: Payment of annual fee to the Chief Inspector by local authorities
617.This section re-enacts provision that was formerly contained in section 51 of the Care Standards Act 2000. The Secretary of State may make regulations requiring a local authority in England to pay a fee to the Office in respect of its “relevant functions”. The Chief Inspector may make a scheme setting the fee level for periods when no regulations made by the Secretary of State are in force. The section is intended to place local authorities on the same footing as independent providers of such services. “Relevant functions” are defined in Part 3 of the Care Standards Act 2000 as adoption and fostering functions. “Local authority in England” is defined in Section 159.