Counter Fraud, Bribery and Corruption

Counter Fraud, Bribery and Corruption

The Care Inspectorate will:

• take all reasonable steps to prevent fraud and corruption
• ensure we have processes in place to detect fraud and corruption wherever possible
• investigate fraud and corruption where it is detected or reported
• pursue appropriate formal action against those involved in fraudulent or corrupt activities

We will take action where fraud, bribery or corruption has been found to have been committed in accordance with our Formal Action Policy.

What to do if you suspect fraud, bribery or corruption

If you are an employee of the Care Inspectorate please follow our internal procedures for reporting concerns.

If you are not an employee of the Care Inspectorate and you believe that there is fraudulent activity taking place, please report this using the details below or you may wish to report your concerns directly to the police.

You can contact the Care Inspectorate directly:

Jackie Mackenzie
Executive Director Corporate and Customer Services
(Fraud Champion)
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Kenny Dick
Head of Finance and Corporate Governance
(Fraud Liasion Officer)
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Or you can write to Jackie or Kenny at the address below:

Care Inspectorate
Compass House
11 Riverside drive
Dundee
DD1 4NY

You can if you prefer, report your concerns to Audit Scotland.

Further detail on the Care Inspectorate’s counter fraud, bribery and corruption approach can be found here.

Our position statement on Modern Slavery

What is Modern Slavery?

We recognise that workers recruited from overseas are a hugely valuable and important part of Scotland’s social care workforce.

Modern slavery is complex; but simply put, it describes a situation where someone is made to do something, and another person gains from this. Modern slavery is about being exploited and completely controlled by someone else, without being able to leave or belief that you cannot leave through threats by person in control. It includes
human trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced compulsory labour.

Modern slavery is the deception or coercion of a person for the purpose of exploitation.

Modern slavery can be present in any social care setting and victims could be either staff working in a service or people who are using a service.

Our strategic aim

We will constructively work with partners to end modern day slavery in Scotland’s social care system.

Our regulatory response

Our purpose is to ensure registered care services provide people with safe, highquality care and to encourage services to improve.

We will be alert to potential cases of modern slavery and to listen sensitively and compassionately when people raise issues with us. We will respond in the following ways:

• If we receive or discover information that may indicate modern slavery, we will identify and record this threat. We will do this even if the person contacting us does not refer to it as modern slavery.
• We will refer identified and potential victims through our established safeguarding referral routes.
• We will monitor registration applications to check for warning si-gns of potential exploitation of skilled workers from overseas.
• We will seek out early indication that sponsor licenses are being exploited by working closely with Home Office and other partners.
• We will not hesitate to take action including proportionate regulatory and enforcement action where modern slavery and unethical recruitment practises pose a potential risk of harm.
• We will work with other organisations to prevent, disrupt and reduce the likelihood of modern slavery in social care.
• We will monitor the modern slavery situation by submitting reports and updates to SMG and ET quarterly or yearly.
• To support our work, we will develop staff awareness/training and procedures.

Bairns’ Hoose (Barnahus)

Bairns’ Hoose, based on an Icelandic model ‘Barnahus’, will bring together services in a ‘four rooms’ approach with child protection, health, justice and recovery services all made available in one setting.  Bairns’ Hoose aims to ensure that every child victim or witness has consistent and holistic support, access to specialist services and receives ongoing therapeutic care from services coordinated under one roof. 

The overall vision of a Bairns’ Hoose (Barnahus) in Scotland is that:

All children in Scotland who have been victims or witnesses to abuse or violence, as well as children under the age of criminal responsibility whose behaviour has caused significant harm or abuse, will have access to trauma informed recovery, support and justice.

The key values through which this vision will be achieved are that:

• we are child centered, trauma informed and respect the rights and wellbeing of the child at all times
• we provide consistent and holistic support, which enables children to have their voices heard, access specialist services and recover from their experiences
• we aim to prevent children being re-traumatised and to improve the experience of the criminal justice process for children and families, and
• we demonstrate connectedness and national leadership to uphold children’s rights to protection, support, participation and recovery.

In 2019, the Scottish Government commissioned Healthcare Improvement Scotland and the Care Inspectorate to jointly develop standards which will provide a blueprint for a Scottish Barnahus (Bairns’ Hoose).  Also in 2019, a Standards Development Group with representatives from across social work, police, health, justice and children’s voluntary organisations began developing the standards. In March 2020 Healthcare Improvement Scotland and the Care Inspectorate paused the development of the standards in order to reduce undue strain across the system and prioritise resources to support the national response to Covid-19. A refreshed Standards Development Group recommenced work on the Bairns’ Hoose standards in January 2022. 

The final standards are now available to download. We have also developed a version of the standards for children and young people. The standards will help to support a consistent national implementation of the Bairns’ Hoose model.

Update on Barnahus July 2023

For further information regarding the project, see other reports published to date:

• Consultation summary report
• Joint impact assessment
• Children’s rights and wellbeing impact assessment
• Bairns’ Hoose Standards: Phase 1 engagement pack
• Standards Scoping Report Bairns’ Hoose (Scottish Barnahus)
• The Foundations for Bairns’ Hoose (Scottish Barnahus)

Deaths of young people in continuing care

Deaths of young people in continuing care

Local authorities must notify the Care Inspectorate and the Scottish Government of the death of a young person in receipt of continuing care as soon as is reasonably practicable.

Local authorities must:

• complete the attached DCC1 form and send this to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• send a copy of the completed DCC1 form to the Scottish Government at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Please note, this is separate from the duty of a registered care service to notify us of the death of a service user. These should be submitted via our eforms system.

More information about notification and reporting arrangements can be found here.

Please submit all relevant forms/reports through secure email to
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

The main contact for this work is Karen McCormack, strategic inspector or Sharon Telfer, strategic inspector, email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Deaths of looked after children

Deaths of looked after children

Local authorities must notify the Care Inspectorate and the Scottish Government within 24 hours of the death of a looked after child.

Local authorities must:

• complete the attached DLC1 form and send this to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• send a copy of the completed DLC1 form to the Scottish Government at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Please note, this is separate from the duty of a registered care service to notify us of the death of a service user. These should be submitted via our eforms system.

More information about notification and reporting arrangements can be found here.

Please submit all relevant forms/reports through secure email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

The main contact for this work is Karen McCormack, strategic inspector or Sharon Telfer, strategic inspector, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Notification on controlled drugs

Notification on controlled drugs

Providers should notify the Care Inspectorate to any adverse events and concerns involving schedule 2, 3, 4, and 5 controlled drugs used in care settings, when they occur, and while the service user is receiving care in the care service.

• Notifications about controlled drugs: guidance for providers

Please note, it is a legal requirement for care services to notify the Care Inspectorate of the matters listed in this document. Where the requirement is limited to a specific type of care service, this is detailed in the guidance.