Office of Public Sector Information
PART 8 continued CHAPTER 3 continued
(1) This section applies to any inspection conducted by the Chief Inspector under this Chapter, other than one conducted under section 126(2).
(2) If the Chief Inspector considers it necessary or expedient for the purposes of the inspection, he may inspect, take copies of, or take away any documents relating to the education or training inspected which are on any premises in relation to which he exercises his power of entry under section 131.
(3) The power in subsection (2) includes—
(a) power to require any person holding or accountable for any documents kept on the premises to produce them, and
(b) in relation to any such documents kept by means of a computer, power to require them to be produced in a form in which they are legible and can be taken away.
(4) In connection with inspecting any such documents the Chief Inspector—
(a) may obtain access to, and inspect and check the operation of, any computer and associated apparatus or material which he considers is or has been in use in connection with the documents; and
(b) may require a person within subsection (5) to afford him such reasonable assistance as he may require for that purpose.
(5) A person is within this subsection if he is—
(a) the person by whom or on whose behalf the computer is or has been used, or
(b) a person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the computer, apparatus or material.
(6) The powers conferred by this section may be exercised by the Chief Inspector at reasonable times only; and a person may not be required to do anything in pursuance of any provision of this section otherwise than at a reasonable time.
(7) Any person who without reasonable excuse—
(a) obstructs the exercise of any power conferred by section 131 or this section, or
(b) fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this section,
is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.
(1) The Chief Inspector must devise—
(a) a common set of principles applicable to all inspections conducted under this Chapter, or
(b) two or more common sets of principles each of which is applicable to a particular description of such inspections.
(2) A set of principles devised under subsection (1)(a) or (b) is referred to in this section as a “framework”.
(3) If the Chief Inspector devises two or more frameworks under subsection (1)(b), he must ensure that, taken together, they cover all inspections conducted under this Chapter.
(4) The Chief Inspector must publish a framework in such manner as he considers appropriate.
(5) The Chief Inspector may at any time revise a framework.
(6) The Chief Inspector must publish a revised framework in such manner as he considers appropriate.
(1) The Adult Learning Inspectorate is abolished on the appointed day.
(2) In this section “the appointed day” means the day appointed under section 188 for the coming into force of this section.
(1) This Chapter applies to the following functions of a local authority in England—
(a) the functions conferred on the authority under Part 1 of the Childcare Act 2006 (c. 21),
(b) the functions conferred on or exercisable by the authority in their capacity as a local education authority,
(c) the functions conferred on the authority under sections 10, 12 and 17 to 19 of the Children Act 2004 (c. 31),
(d) the social services functions (within the meaning of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 (c. 42)) of the authority, so far as relating to persons aged under 18,
(e) (whether or not within paragraph (d)) functions conferred on or exercisable by the authority under the Children Act 1989 (c. 41), the Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999 (c. 18) or the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (c. 38) and functions continuing to be exercisable by the authority under the Adoption Act 1976 (c. 36), and
(f) such other functions of the authority as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State.
(2) In this Chapter “related activity”, in relation to a function to which this Chapter applies, means (subject to subsections (3) and (4)) anything done in any place by, or pursuant to arrangements made by, the authority under section 2(1)(a) or (b) of the Local Government Act 2000 (c. 22) (promotion of economic and social well-being) which is similar in nature to anything which could be done by the authority in the performance of the function in question.
(3) In relation to a function within subsection (1)(c), (d) or (e), anything done as mentioned in subsection (2) is a “related activity” only if it is done in relation to or for the benefit of—
(a) persons aged under 18,
(b) persons aged 18 or over in relation to whom the authority have functions under any of sections 23C to 24D of the Children Act 1989, or
(c) persons not within paragraph (a) or (b) in connection with adoption or special guardianship.
In paragraph (c) “special guardianship” means special guardianship under sections 14A to 14G of the Children Act 1989.
(4) In relation to a function prescribed by regulations under subsection (1)(f), anything done as mentioned in subsection (2) is a “related activity” only if it is prescribed as such by the regulations.
(5) On the coming into force of this Chapter the Commission for Social Care Inspection is to cease to have functions under Chapter 5 of Part 2 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 (c. 43) in relation to anything which may be inspected by the Chief Inspector under this Chapter.
(1) The Chief Inspector may inspect—
(a) the overall performance by any local authority in England of the functions to which this Chapter applies, or
(b) the performance by any such authority of any particular function or functions comprised in the functions to which this Chapter applies.
(2) An inspection under subsection (1) of the performance by an authority of any function must include an inspection of any related activity.
(3) When requested to do so by the Secretary of State, the Chief Inspector must conduct an inspection under this section in relation to the local authority specified in the request.
(4) Such a request may specify particular matters which the Chief Inspector must inspect.
(1) On completing an inspection under section 136, the Chief Inspector must make a written report on the matters which were the subject of the inspection.
(2) The Chief Inspector must send copies of the report to—
(a) the local authority in England which was inspected, and
(b) the Secretary of State.
(3) Where an authority receive a copy of a report under this section, they must prepare a written statement of—
(a) the action which they propose to take in the light of the report, and
(b) the period within which they propose to take that action.
(4) The authority must publish—
(a) the report, and
(b) the statement prepared under subsection (3),
within such period, and in such manner, as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State.
(5) Such regulations may provide for the authority to charge a reasonable fee for providing a person with a copy of a document published under subsection (4).
(6) The Chief Inspector may arrange for any report under this section to be published in such manner as he considers appropriate.
(1) In each financial year the Chief Inspector must review the overall performance by each local authority in England of the functions to which this Chapter applies.
(2) A review under subsection (1) of the performance of functions must include a review of related activities.
(3) After conducting a review under this section in relation to an authority the Chief Inspector must award the authority a performance rating in respect of the matters reviewed.
(4) In this section “financial year” means a period of 12 months ending with 31st March in any year.
(1) This section applies to—
(a) any inspection conducted by the Chief Inspector under section 136, and
(b) any review conducted by him under section 138.
(2) The Chief Inspector may, at any reasonable time, enter any premises for the purposes of the inspection or review, other than any premises excluded by subsection (3).
(3) The premises excluded by this subsection are any domestic premises that are not a school (within the meaning of EA 1996).
(1) This section applies to—
(a) any inspection conducted by the Chief Inspector under section 136, and
(b) any review conducted by him under section 138.
(2) If the Chief Inspector considers it necessary or expedient for the purposes of the inspection or review, he may do any of the following—
(a) inspect, take copies of, or take away any documents which—
(i) relate to the performance by the local authority being inspected or reviewed of any function to which this Chapter applies, or to any related activity, and
(ii) are on any premises in relation to which he exercises his power of entry under section 139,
(b) inspect or take away any other item which is on the premises,
(c) interview in private—
(i) any person working on the premises, or
(ii) (subject to subsection (3)) any person accommodated or cared for there, and
(d) make any other examination into the state and management of the premises and treatment of persons accommodated or cared for there.
(3) Subsection (2)(c)(ii) does not apply unless consent to the interview is given by or on behalf of the person concerned.
(4) The power in subsection (2)(a) includes—
(a) power to require any person holding or accountable for any documents kept on the premises to produce them, and
(b) in relation to documents kept by means of a computer, power to require them to be produced in a form in which they are legible and can be taken away.
(5) In connection with inspecting any such documents, the Chief Inspector—
(a) may obtain access to, and inspect and check the operation of, any computer and associated apparatus or material which he considers is or has been in use in connection with the documents, and
(b) may require a person within subsection (6) to afford him such reasonable assistance as he may require for that purpose.
(6) A person is within this subsection if he is—
(a) the person by whom or on whose behalf the computer is or has been used, or
(b) a person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the computer, apparatus or material.
(7) The Chief Inspector may—
(a) require any person to afford him such facilities and assistance with respect to matters within the person’s control as are necessary to enable him to exercise his powers under section 139 or this section, and
(b) take such measurements and photographs and make such recordings as he considers necessary to enable him to exercise those powers.
(8) The powers conferred by this section may be exercised by the Chief Inspector at reasonable times only; and a person may not be required to do anything in pursuance of any provision of this section otherwise than at a reasonable time.
(9) Any person who without reasonable excuse—
(a) obstructs the exercise of any power conferred by section 139 or this section, or
(b) fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this section,
is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.
(1) The Chief Inspector may at any time require any person within subsection (2) to provide him with any information, documents or other items—
(a) which relates or relate to the performance by a local authority in England of any of the functions to which this Chapter applies or any related activity, and
(b) which the Chief Inspector considers it necessary or expedient to have for the purposes of, or in connection with, the performance by him of any function under this Chapter.
(2) The persons within this subsection are—
(a) the local authority;
(b) any person with whom the authority have entered into arrangements—
(i) in the performance of any of the functions to which this Chapter applies, or
(ii) in connection with any related activity.
(3) The power in subsection (1) includes, in relation to documents kept by means of a computer, power to require them to be produced in a form in which they are legible and can be taken away.
(4) Any person who without reasonable excuse fails to comply with any requirement imposed by virtue of this section is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.
(1) In this Chapter “related activity”, in relation to a function of a local authority to which this Chapter applies, has the meaning given by section 135(2) to (4).
(2) For the purposes of this Chapter, references to the performance by a local authority in England of any function include references to—
(a) anything done in any place by the authority in the performance of the function, and
(b) anything done in any place by another person pursuant to arrangements made by the authority in the performance of the function.
(3) This Chapter applies in relation to the Isles of Scilly subject to such modifications as may be specified by order made by the Secretary of State.
(1) The Chief Inspector must inspect the performance of CAFCASS functions.
(2) On completing an inspection under this section, the Chief Inspector must make a written report on it.
(3) The Chief Inspector must send copies of the report to—
(a) the Secretary of State, and
(b) CAFCASS.
(4) The Chief Inspector must arrange for the report to be published in such manner as he considers appropriate.
(5) In this Chapter—
(a) “CAFCASS” means the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, and
(b) “CAFCASS functions” means the functions of CAFCASS and its officers.
(1) This section applies to an inspection conducted by the Chief Inspector under section 143.
(2) The Chief Inspector may, at any reasonable time, enter for the purposes of the inspection—
(a) any premises occupied by CAFCASS,
(b) any premises occupied by any organisation with whom arrangements have been made under section 13 of the 2000 Act (other powers of CAFCASS) in respect of the performance of any CAFCASS functions, and so occupied in connection with the performance of any such functions, or
(c) any premises occupied by any individual in connection with the performance of functions of an officer of the Service in accordance with arrangements under that section.
(3) Subsection (2) does not confer a power of entry to any part of any domestic premises.
(4) In this section and section 145 “officer of the Service” is to be construed in accordance with section 11(3) of the 2000 Act (establishment of CAFCASS).
(5) In this section “the 2000 Act” means the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 (c. 43).
(1) This section applies to any inspection conducted by the Chief Inspector under section 143.
(2) If the Chief Inspector considers it necessary or expedient for the purposes of the inspection, he may inspect, take copies of, or take away any documents kept by CAFCASS, or otherwise relating to the performance of CAFCASS functions, which—
(a) are on any premises in relation to which he exercises his power of entry under section 144, or
(b) are kept by an officer of the Service on domestic premises.
(3) The power in subsection (2) includes—
(a) power to require any person holding or accountable for any documents kept on the premises to produce them, and
(b) in relation to documents kept by means of a computer, power to require them to be produced in a form in which they are legible and can be taken away.
(4) In connection with inspecting any such documents the Chief Inspector—
(a) may obtain access to, and inspect and check the operation of, any computer and associated apparatus or material which he considers is or has been in use in connection with the documents; and
(b) may require a person within subsection (6) to afford him such reasonable assistance as he may require for that purpose.
(5) Where any such computer, apparatus or material is kept on domestic premises—
(a) subsection (4) does not apply, but
(b) the Chief Inspector may require a person within subsection (6) to give him possession of it for the purpose of inspecting it and checking its operation.
(6) A person is within this subsection if he is—
(a) the person by whom or on whose behalf the computer is or has been used, or
(b) a person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the computer, apparatus or material.
(7) Where the Chief Inspector takes possession of anything under subsection (5)—
(a) he may retain it for as long as he considers that it is necessary to retain it for the purposes of the inspection under section 143, but
(b) once he considers that it is no longer necessary to retain it for those purposes, he must arrange for it to be returned to the person from whose possession it was taken.
(8) The powers conferred by this section may be exercised by the Chief Inspector at reasonable times only; and a person may not be required to do anything in pursuance of any provision of this section otherwise than at a reasonable time.
(1) The Chief Inspector and the Secretary of State may make arrangements for the Chief Inspector to conduct inspections of secure training centres in England.
(2) Inspections under this section shall be on such terms, including terms as to payments to be made to the Chief Inspector in respect of such inspections, as the Chief Inspector and the Secretary of State may agree in the arrangements.
(3) In this section “secure training centre” has the same meaning as in section 43(1)(d) of the Prison Act 1952 (c. 52).
(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations require the Chief Inspector to arrange for premises which are used by a local authority in England in their performance of relevant functions to be inspected on such occasions or at such intervals as may be specified in the regulations.
(2) An inspection under this section is to be regarded for all purposes as undertaken under section 136.
(3) In this section “relevant functions”, in relation to a local authority, has the same meaning as in Part 3 of the Care Standards Act 2000 (c. 14).
(1) The functions of the CSCI under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000 (registration and standards) as the registration authority in relation to—
(a) children’s homes,
(b) residential family centres,
(c) fostering agencies,
(d) voluntary adoption agencies, and
(e) adoption support agencies,
are transferred to the Chief Inspector.
(2) The Chief Inspector shall make available to the public information about services of the kind provided by persons for whom he is (in accordance with subsection (1)) the registration authority under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000.
(3) The functions of the CSCI under sections 65 and 87 to 87D of the Children Act 1989 (c. 41) (functions relating to children’s homes, boarding schools and colleges) are transferred to the Chief Inspector.
(4) In this section “the CSCI” means the Commission for Social Care Inspection.
Schedule 13 contains provisions authorising or requiring the Chief Inspector to take certain action in relation to other authorities, including the carrying out of inspections under arrangements with them.
(1) This section applies to any person exercising (in accordance with paragraph 9 of Schedule 12)—
(a) any power of entry conferred on the Chief Inspector by virtue of any enactment,
(b) any power to inspect documents so conferred, or
(c) any power so conferred in connection with the inspection of documents.
(2) Any such person must, if so required, produce a duly authenticated document showing his authority to exercise the power concerned.
(3) Nothing in this section applies in relation to any exercise of the power conferred by section 141(1).
(1) For the purposes of the law of defamation, a report made by the Chief Inspector which—
(a) is published under any enactment, or
(b) is not so published but is made in pursuance of his functions under any enactment,
is privileged unless its publication is shown to have been made with malice.
(2) Where by virtue of any enactment the Chief Inspector has power to arrange for a report made by him to be published in a manner determined by him, he may (if he considers it appropriate to do so) arrange for the report to be published by electronic means only.
(3) Nothing in this section—
(a) limits any privilege subsisting apart from subsection (1), or
(b) prejudices the generality of any power of the Chief Inspector subsisting apart from subsection (2).
(1) Nothing in any enactment prevents the Chief Inspector from—
(a) combining in a single document two or more reports which are required to be made by him under any enactment or enactments, or
(b) combining in a single document one or more such reports and one or more reports which are required to be made by one or more other persons under any enactment or enactments,
and (in either case) combining the substantive reports to such extent as he considers appropriate.
(2) In this section such a document is referred to as a “combined report”.
(3) Where a combined report is made, any reference in any enactment—
(a) to the publication of a report, or
(b) to the giving or making available to any person of a copy of a report,
is to be read, so far as necessary, as a reference to the publication of the combined report, or to the giving or making available to that person of a copy of the combined report.
(4) The Chief Inspector may arrange for a combined report to be published in any manner he considers appropriate, but this subsection does not limit any duty as to publication imposed by any enactment.
(5) The provisions of section 151 apply to a combined report (whether or not they would otherwise so apply).
Information obtained by the Chief Inspector in connection with any of his functions may be used by him in connection with any of his other functions.
In section 5 of EA 2005 (duty to inspect certain schools in England at particular intervals), in subsection (5) (which lists matters on which the Chief Inspector is under a general duty to report)—
(a) omit the word “and” at the end of paragraph (e), and
(b) at the end insert—
“(g) the contribution made by the school to community cohesion.”
(1) Regulations made by the Secretary of State may require a local authority in England to pay to the Chief Inspector an annual fee in respect of the discharge by the authority of any of their relevant functions specified in the regulations.
(2) The regulations must specify—
(a) the amount of the fee, and
(b) the time at which it is to be paid.
(3) The Chief Inspector may make a scheme under subsection (4) that is to have effect at a time when no regulations are in force under subsection (1).
(4) A scheme under this subsection (“a scheme”) may provide for a local authority in England to be required to pay to the Chief Inspector an annual fee in respect of the discharge by the authority of any of their relevant functions specified in the scheme.
(5) The amount of the fee payable by virtue of a scheme is to be such as may be specified in, or calculated or determined under, the scheme.
Education and Inspections Act 2006