Decision report 201100662

Summary
Mr C alleged that a registered housing support service was operating as an alcohol detox centre. His own organisation offered a detox service, he said, to a high degree of professionalism, whereas the organisation he complained of did not. He said it was being incorrectly marketed. He complained that, when he told the Care Inspectorate about this, they failed to properly investigate his complaint about the organisation and to take appropriate action, including liaising with other bodies.

Our investigation found that the registration of a care service is a legal matter and that the Care Inspectorate were obliged to follow appropriate legal guidelines. When considering an application to them for registration as a housing support service, therefore, the Care Inspectorate were under obligation to do only that. A housing support service is legally defined, so where it appeared, after inspection, that a provider met the required definition, the Inspectorate were obliged to confirm the status sought. In these circumstances, we did not uphold Mr C's complaint.