Commentary on Sections Enforcement of care standards (Sections 26 to 29)
110.Under the provisions of Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000, a person who carries on or manages a children’s home, a fostering agency, a residential family centre, an adoption support agency or a voluntary adoption agency must be registered with the registration authority. Conditions may be imposed in relation to registration, either at the point of registration or at a later date, and it is an offence to breach those conditions. There is a right of appeal to a Tribunal against a refusal to register a person, a variation of registration conditions or a decision to cancel registration. The registration authority in England is the Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills and in Wales is the Welsh Ministers.
111.Standards of provision in children’s social care establishments and agencies are inspected by the registration authority for compliance with the applicable regulations made under section 22 of the Care Standards Act 2000, or in the case of adoption agencies, under section 9 of the Adoption Act 1976 and section 9 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002.
112.Each type of establishment and agency is subject to its own set of regulations. For example, children’s homes are subject to the Children’s Homes Regulations 2001, which impose various obligations on the person carrying on the home and the manager, for example, making sure staff employed at the home have the necessary qualifications and experience. National Minimum Standards (NMS) are also published for each type of establishment and agency under section 23 of the Care Standards Act 2000, these must be taken into account when an establishment or agency is assessed for compliance with the applicable regulations by the registration authority. The degree to which a children’s home complies with the requirements in the regulations, with reference to the NMS, will be considered when the registration authority takes any decision relating to  registration of an establishment or agency, the imposition of conditions for registration and enforcement action including proceedings for cancellation of registration or prosecution. The NMS are currently being reviewed by the Department and new NMS are expected to be published in 2009, to come into effect in 2010.
113.Sections 26 to 29 amend the Care Standards Act 2000 to confer additional powers and duties on the registration authority in relation to standards in children’s social care settings. The children’s social care settings affected by section 26are those establishments and agencies regulated under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000, including children’s homes, fostering agencies, residential family centres, adoption support agencies and voluntary adoption agencies. Section 27 (restriction on admissions) applies only to residential settings, i.e. children’s homes and residential family centres.