FAQs

The views of users and carers play a central part in all our independent inspections and reviews. We gather their views through questionnaires and face-to-face meetings. During inspections, we hold series of meetings with representatives of user and carer groups.

As well as listening to users and carers, we take account of the views of all stakeholders, including social workers and social work managers. In each inspection, we actively encourage staff to have their say.

The scope of our inspections will include all the social work activities of local authorities and other bodies (such as organisations providing social work services to a local authority). During the course of our inspections we will take into account the findings by other inspection and regulatory organisations.

We are due to complete performance inspections of all 32 local authorities by March 2009. We have completed our programme of criminal justice inspections. At present, we are looking at this work in light of the Management of Offenders etc (Scotland) Act 2005.

Integrated inspection activity to date has also included

• A multi-agency inspection of learning disability services;
• A multi-agency inspection of substance misuse services;
• Mulit-agency inspections of services for older people

Scottish Ministers can set up agencies as part of Government Directorates to carry out distinct areas of work. In SWIA's case, we are part of the Education Directorate. Agency status reflects the independence of our reports. At the same time, it keeps SWIA’s functions within the context of Ministers' aims for social work services.

Our annual business plan sets out our targets for the year ahead, and then the annual report to Scottish Ministers details how we've achieved the targets. Both publications are available on our website. The Auditor General for Scotland audits our accounts and is also responsible for the general external audit of our services. We have a widely-publicised complaints procedure which is available on the website or through our office.

No, both organisations have distinct areas of work. At SWIA, we inspect social work services provided by or on behalf of local authorities. The Care Commission regulates specific care services under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act. However, more integrated inspections mean that we work closely with colleagues in the Care Commission and other regulatory bodies and inspectorates.

We operate within the statutory powers of inspection in the Joint Inspection of Children’s Services and Inspection of Social Work Services (Scotland) Act 2006, the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and the Regulation of Care Act 2001. Scottish Ministers have authorised the Chief Social Work Inspector to exercise these powers, and they authorise inspectors as they are appointed. We are not a complaints body, and do not investigate individual complaints from members of the public.

Our inspections extend to all duties and functions of local authorities and other bodies under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 and related legislation. Some of their services are inspected by another regulator, such as the Care Commission. When that is the case, we will take the other regulator's findings into account, and not duplicate the work.

| SWIA Complaints Procedure (PDF, 53kb)