The move will create a two-tier system, whereby nannies recruited through agencies are regulated and nannies recruited directly by parents are not.
Parents who recruit nannies directly will not therefore be able to claim childcare tax credit.
Any childcare agencies which were regulated by local authorities under the old system automatically passed over to the Care Commission in April 2002, when it took over responsibility for all childcare services regulated by local authorities. Nanny agencies have previously been unregulated both north and south of the border.
Under the proposals, published by the Scottish Executive at the end of December, childcare agencies will be considered to be registered with the Care Commission from 1 April and will have until 30 September to submit a formal application for registration. If they have not applied for registration by the end of September and continue to operate, they will be committing an offence. The Care Commission will have until 31 March 2004 to consider and make a decision on the applications received.
The suggested timetable was published in a letter sent out to nanny agencies at the end of December asking for comments by 28 February 2003.
This can be viewed on the website www.scotland.gov.uk/publicationsunder the title 'The Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001: Commencement of regulation of housing support services, childcare agencies, and the management of funds for those adults with incapacity; and transitional arrangements for registration.'
The letter says, 'We now propose that all childcare agencies will be regulated from April 2003. Ensuring that the services they are providing are registered with the Care Commission from then will allow individuals using these services to access childcare tax credit. This will contribute towards the Scottish Executive's social inclusion agenda in helping parents back to work or to access training.'
It adds that a consultation will be published shortly proposing maximum fees for registration.
Draft national standards for the regulation of nanny agencies say that agencies should carry out a number of checks on carers, including an enhanced disclosure from Disclosure Scotland and cross-referencing with the list of individuals considered unsuitable to work with children referred to in the Protection of Children (Scotland) Bill currently making its way through the Scottish Parliament.
Nanny agencies have voiced concern about the additional bureaucracy and cost of carrying out checks. Some have suggested that nannies should be able to obtain enhanced disclosures without agencies being involved and register directly with the Care Commission (News, 2 January).
The Professional Association of Teachers has also expressed concern about the lack of regulation of nannies hired directly by parents. The standards are available on www.scotland.gov.uk/health/standardsandsponsorship.
