National Care Standards: Services for People in Criminal Justice Supported Accommodation

Introduction

It is important to be clear about the nature and purpose of services for people in criminal justice supported accommodation. The services are normally provided for people under a statutory order or licence who are assessed as unable, at this time, to live independently in the community. Individuals not subject to such supervision make their own arrangements to find accommodation. The support or supervision allows people to take part in community-based programmes, and it also aims to reduce the likelihood and scale of re-offending by helping to promote the stability which often comes from additional staff support, and links to family and communities. It is in this way that services for people in criminal justice accommodation are focused on building safe communities.

The supported accommodation that is provided

The number of supported accommodation places for offenders that are funded by the Scottish Government is very small. There are about 200 beds in the various forms of criminal justice supported accommodation in Scotland. The needs of most offenders are met outwith services for people in criminal justice supported accommodation.

Access to supported accommodation

People normally use criminal justice accommodation as a condition of an order or licence. A social worker may, however, decide that a person in their care (under statutory supervision) would benefit from the extra support and supervision which these services offer, if this would help the overall objectives of the order, licence or other statutory package of supervision and support.

Forms of supported accommodation

There are a number of different types of criminal justice accommodation. They include 24-hour staffed hostels, supported tenancies (individual or group), supported landlady schemes, and bed and breakfast places. Also, criminal justice funds may be used to pay for places in specialist residential projects dealing with addiction or mental health problems, if it is directly relevant to an individual's offending behaviour.

The distinguishing feature of services to people in criminal justice supported accommodation is the arrangement of accommodation as part of a package of support, supervision and/or surveillance, according to individual needs. The service helps to achieve the overall aims of the statutory order or licence.

Principles

A number of specific principles should apply to services for people in criminal justice accommodation. These include:

• equal access where supported accommodation is needed;
• targeting resources to specific groups and areas of greatest risk or need;
• providing flexible services to meet individual needs and circumstances, including those of the highest-risk offenders;
• value for money, by delivering services effectively and efficiently;
• getting offenders involved in the community again; and
• securing the confidence of the public, the courts and Parole Board in the supported accommodation options available for offenders.

About half of the present number of bed spaces are in the hostels provided in seven local authority areas - Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Fife, Glasgow, Highland and Orkney. Access to hostels is generally limited to people who come from the surrounding areas. However, there is no consistent policy on this and, if there are appropriate funding arrangements between authorities, offenders from outwith the immediate neighbouring authorities can be accommodated.

The national care standards

Scottish Ministers set up the National Care Standards Committee ( NCSC) to develop national standards. The NCSC carried out this work with the help of a number of working groups. These groups included people who use services, their families and carers, along with staff, professional associations, regulators from health and social care, local authorities, health boards and independent providers. Many others were also involved in the consultation process. For services for people in criminal justice supported accommodation, the working group included a Justice Department administrator.

A consultation event was held in Glasgow on 9 May 2001 when people were asked to consider a draft of the care standards for services for people in criminal justice supported accommodation. Service users and staff from three providers based in Glasgow - Sacro, the Talbot Association and the Church of Scotland (Dick Stewart Hostel) - took part. The event was well attended and received, providing helpful and reassuring discussion on the draft material at that stage, together with useful new suggestions.

The national care standards are based on a set of principles. The principles themselves are not care standards but reflect the recognised rights which you enjoy as a citizen. These principles are the result of all the contributions made by the NCSC, its working groups and everyone else who responded to the consultations on the standards as they were being written. They recognise that services must be accessible and suitable for everyone who needs them, including people from black and ethnic minority communities.

The main principles are:

• dignity;
• privacy;
• choice;
• safety;
• realising potential; and
• equality and diversity.

The Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care

The Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 ('The Act') set up the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care ('the Care Commission'). The Care Commission registers and inspects all the services to be regulated under the Act, taking account of the National Care Standards issued by Scottish Ministers. The Care Commission has its headquarters in Dundee, with regional offices across the country. It assesses applications from people who want to provide registered services. It inspects the services to make sure that they are meeting the standards and the regulations.

The Scottish Social Services Council

The Act created the Scottish Social Services Council ('the Council') which was established on 1 October 2001. It also has its headquarters in Dundee. The Council has the duty of promoting high standards of conduct and practice among social services workers, and in their education and training. To deliver its overall aims of protecting service users and carers and securing the confidence of the public in social services, the Council has been given four main tasks. These are: to establish registers of key groups of social services staff; to publish codes of practice for all social services staff and their employers; to regulate the training and education of the workforce; to undertake the functions of the National Training Organisation for the Personal Social Services.

How standards and regulations work together

The Act gives Scottish Ministers the power to publish standards which the Care Commission must take into account when making its decisions. It also gives Ministers the power to make regulations imposing requirements in relation to care services.

The standards are taken into account by the Care Commission in making any decision about applications for registration (including varying or removing a condition that may have been imposed on the registration of the service). All providers must provide a statement of function and purpose when they are applying to register their service. On the basis of that statement the Care Commission will determine which standards will apply to the service that the provider is offering.

The standards are used to monitor the quality of care services and their compliance with the Act and the regulations. If, at inspection, or at other times, for example, as a result of the Care Commission looking into a complaint, there are concerns about the service, the Care Commission will take the standards into account in any decision on whether to take enforcement action and what action to take.

If the standards were not being fully met, the Care Commission would note this on the inspection report and require the service manager to address this. The Care Commission could impose an additional condition on the service's registration if the provider persistently, substantially or seriously failed to meet the standards or breached a regulation. If the provider does not then meet the condition, the Care Commission could issue an improvement notice detailing the required improvement to be made and the time scale for this. Alternatively, the Care Commission could move straight to an improvement notice. The Care Commission would move to cancel the registration of any service if the improvement notice does not achieve the desired result. In extreme cases ( i.e. where there is serious risk to a person's life, health or wellbeing) the Care Commission could take immediate steps to cancel the registration of any service without issuing an improvement notice.

Regulations are mandatory. In some cases not meeting a regulation is an offence. This means a provider may be subject to prosecution. Not meeting or breaching any regulation is a serious matter.

Decisions by the Care Commission on what to do when standards or regulations are not met will take into account all the relevant circumstances and be proportionate.

European Convention on Human Rights key articles

The National Care Standards Committee adopted an approach which aims to balance the individual's rights and responsibilities. This is a particularly helpful and realistic approach for services for people in criminal justice supported accommodation, taking account of the Human Rights Act 2000 and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Article 3

No one shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment.

Article 8

1 Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and correspondence.

2 There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic wellbeing of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

Article 9

1 Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in a community with others and in public or private,
to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice
and observance.

2 Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

Article 10

1 Everyone has the right to freedom of expression.

2 'The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of … public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of the health or morals or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others…'

Article 11

1 'Everyone has the right to peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others …'

2 'No restrictions shall be placed on the exercise of these rights other than such as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others…'.

The effects on the care standards

All the articles above are relevant to this form of service. Offenders and ex-prisoners generally do not have much choice about using criminal justice supported accommodation services, because they may go to prison if they do not comply or it may be a specific requirement of a court order or licence. These conditions often limit the offender's freedom or choice. In all circumstances, the time spent in supported accommodation is intended to be a period of transition, that is, it allows the person to be supervised in the community and to make the progress needed to move to more independent living arrangements.

The purpose of the service is to sustain the viability of community supervision of offenders and ex-prisoners and to help them to develop an independent and crime-free lifestyle. Any restriction on the liberty or choice of the individual has therefore to be compatible with those purposes. Such restrictions should be to the minimum level necessary to realise the objectives of supervision and so contribute to public safety. Although any requirement to live in supported accommodation for these purposes restricts freedom and choice, it should not be seen as a form of punishment. It should help the individual to follow the terms and conditions of supervision and to develop and maintain an appropriate pro-social lifestyle. Articles 3, 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the European Convention are helpful in recognising the importance of a balance between the rights of the individual and their responsibilities towards the safety and wellbeing of others.

For whatever reasons offenders are in supported accommodation, they are entitled to care as well as supervision. These standards explain the level of care that people should receive within the service. In this respect, offenders and ex-prisoners are no different from other client groups. As individuals they have a right to be treated with care, respect and dignity. They have a right to privacy and to exercise as full a range of choices as can be made available to them.

Issues of involvement and social inclusion (being included in society) are particularly important in work with offenders. It is essential that services for people in criminal justice supported accommodation do all they can to get service users involved in activities and services in the wider community,
for example, employment, training and education, health, leisure and
civil rights.

Legislation

Section 27 of The Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 places a duty on the local authority to supervise and care for persons on a court order, released from prison on licence or order, or to assist those who request voluntary assistance within 12 months of release from prison or detention.

A range of specific legislation is relevant to different forms of supervision
of offenders and ex-prisoners and how these services are provided.
This includes:

• Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993
• Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995
• Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

Annex A gives other useful legislation, policy and reference material.

Comments

If you would like to comment on these standards you can visit our website and send a message through our mailbox: www.scotland.gov.uk/health/standardsandsponsorship

You can also contact us at:

Tel: 0131 244 3699
Fax: 0131 244 4005