The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) (external link)

The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) discharges its existing regulatory complaints responsibilities under the Care Standards Act 2000, and from April 2005 under the provisions of the Health & Social Care (Community Health & Standards) Act 2003, with respect to complaints about social services.

The CSCI incorporates the work formerly done by:

• The Social Services Inspectorate (SSI)
• SSI/Audit Commission Joint Review Team
• The National Care Standards Commission (NCSC).

The CSCI has a much wider remit than its predecessor organisations. It brings together the inspection, regulation and review of all social care services into one organisation for a more rational and integrated system. The CSCI has a duty to monitor the quality and effectiveness of local arrangements operated by care service providers, and to use its powers and procedures to investigate complaints.

Both the Healthcare Commission and CSCI have equivalent roles in relation to complaints about NHS and social services respectively.

The CSCI will have a duty to monitor the quality and effectiveness of local arrangements operated by care service providers, and to use its powers and procedures to investigate complaints. CSCI will also assume responsibility for the independent review of complaints concerning local authority social services departments.

The Department of Health consultation 'Listening to People' (external link)
identified key areas for improvement and through a Department of Health Social Services Complaints Working Group, involving national representatives from NCOG, ADSS, LGA, various independent groups and the new Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI),  proposals were developed for a more consistent and effective procedure for handling complaints, providing more satisfactory outcomes for service users, carers and their representatives, and building on identified areas in need of improvement. These proposals formed the basis for the consultation undertaken by the Department 'Learning From Complaints' October 2004. Consultation ran until 10 January 2005.

Reformed CSCI Complaints Procedure
Proposals for a reformed social services complaints procedure received Parliamentary approval as part of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003.  Regulations which form part of the legislative basis for the complaints procedure came into force on 1 September 2006:  Local Authority Social Services Complaints (England) Regulations 2006 Statutory Instrument 2006 No.1681 (external link)