Care Inspectorate
Care Inspectorate is Scotland's statutory regulator for care services, funded by the Scottish Government. It registers, inspects, grades, and supports improvement across adult social care, early learning and childcare, children and young people's services, and justice social work.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersDundee, United Kingdom
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Care Inspectorate does
Care Inspectorate is the national assurance and improvement support body for social care services and social work in Scotland, operating as a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. Established under the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 (originally as Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland, or SCSWIS), the organisation is headquartered in Dundee with 501-1,000 employees and exercises statutory authority to register, inspect, evaluate, and enforce standards across four regulated sectors: adult social care, early learning and childcare, children and young people's services, and justice-related social work. Its remit spans care homes, home care, nurseries, childminders, fostering and adoption services, and community justice, with strategic scrutiny extending to local Health and Social Care Partnerships and Integration Authorities.
The organisation runs a unified digital platform comprising a public-facing Care Service Register (allowing citizens to search providers and view inspection reports), a Digital Portal for providers to manage registration and compliance, an eForms system for notifications and annual returns, and a personalised My Dashboard. It also publishes sector-specific quality frameworks and self-evaluation tools, and operates improvement programmes including the Care Home Improvement Programme, Digital Social Care, Safe Staffing (under the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019), and Anne's Law.
Care Inspectorate is funded entirely by the Scottish Government through grant-in-aid rather than commercial revenue; its public-facing services are free to citizens, while registration fees may apply to care providers. Distribution is direct-to-consumer and self-serve via web channels (website, digital portal, eForms, contact centre, social media), and key strategic partnerships include the Scottish Government (funder/principal), Disclosure Scotland (PVG scheme), local Health and Social Care Partnerships, and national review collaborations on safeguarding matters.
Care Inspectorate firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Care Inspectorate
- Legal name
- Care Inspectorate
- Website
- https://careinspectorate.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Care Inspectorate is Scotland's statutory regulator for care services, funded by the Scottish Government. It registers, inspects, grades, and supports improvement across adult social care, early learning and childcare, children and young people's services, and justice social work.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Care Inspectorate industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Social Care Regulation
- akta.pro primary industry
- Regulatory Compliance Audits & Inspections (EDACAKAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Safeguarding, Student Welfare & Child Protection Compliance Audits (EDADAGAI), Quality Monitoring, Advocacy & Ongoing Care Plan Review (HSABAIAO), Education Ombudsman, Appeals & Complaints Offices (EDADAAAK)
Keywords
Where Care Inspectorate is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Dundee
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Care Inspectorate business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Government Funding: Funded by the Scottish Government as a national regulatory and improvement body for social care services and social work
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Public regulatory services provided at no cost to service users |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels8 records
Care Inspectorate product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Care Inspectorate is Scotland's national assurance and improvement support body for social care services and social work. It registers, inspects, and grades care services including care homes, nurseries, childminders, fostering and adoption agencies, and supports care providers with quality improvement programmes. It also maintains a public register of care services, handles complaints from the public, and publishes strategic scrutiny reports on local partnership performance.
Product overview
Care Inspectorate operates a unified digital platform consisting of a public-facing Care Service Register for finding and reviewing care services, a Digital Portal for providers to manage their registrations and compliance, and an eForms system for submitting notifications and updates. Additional offerings include My Dashboard for personalized service tracking, Quality Frameworks and Self-Evaluation Tools tailored to different care sectors (adults, early learning, children and young people), and a Strategic Scrutiny Reports Library. These interconnected tools work together to support the organization's role as Scotland's national assurance and improvement support body for social care services and social work.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Digital Portal
Quantifiable outcome
- National coverage of all registered care services in Scotland
Companies that use Care Inspectorate
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Care Inspectorate technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Care Inspectorate partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Scottish GovernmentcoreFunded by and accountable to the Scottish Government as the national regulatory and improvement body for social care services and social work in Scotland
- Local PartnershipscoreWorks with local partnerships including Health Boards, Local Authorities, and Integration Authorities to support quality improvement and strategic scrutiny across Scotland
- Disclosure ScotlandcoreCollaboration on PVG (Protecting Vulnerable Groups) scheme matters related to care service staff vetting and certification
- Health and Social Care PartnershipscoreJoint working with Integration Authorities responsible for health and social care services at local level
- National Review of Group-based Child Sexual Abuse and ExploitationcoreNational review collaboration addressing group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation across Scotland
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Care Inspectorate competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Ofsted: UK-wide regulator for education and children's services, including early years and social care inspection in England. Comparable in regulatory philosophy (graded inspection reports, public register) though broader scope covering schools.
- Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC): Scottish regulator for the social services workforce, responsible for registering and regulating social workers and care staff. Closely related — covers the people-side of the same sector Care Inspectorate regulates at the service-level.
- Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS): Scottish national body overseeing healthcare quality, including inspection of independent healthcare services. Overlaps with Care Inspectorate in Scottish quality assurance and may absorb or share scrutiny of certain provider types.
Direct peers
- Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW): Wales's regulator of social care and early years services. Operates the same statutory inspection, registration, and quality-grading model as Care Inspectorate Scotland, including a public register of services and provider self-assessment tools.
- Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA): Northern Ireland's independent body for inspecting and reviewing the availability and quality of health and social care services. Directly comparable in mandate, including inspection regimes and published inspection reports.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC): England's independent regulator of health and adult social care. Most direct peer — performs registration, inspection, and grading of care providers, and operates a comparable public-facing evaluation register, just at UK-England scale.
Others
- Inspection Support Network (ISN): Supplier of digital inspection, scheduling, and reporting software used by care regulators and healthcare inspection bodies globally. Enabling technology peer relevant to Care Inspectorate's digital portal/eForms roadmap.
- Disclosure Scotland: Scottish Government body running PVG (Protecting Vulnerable Groups) scheme. Confirmed partner of Care Inspectorate for vetting care service staff — adjacent enabling function within the same regulatory ecosystem.
Regional players
- Social Care Wales: Welsh workforce and service-improvement body for social care. Comparable to Scottish counterparts in mission but focuses on workforce registration and development rather than service inspection.
- Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland: Scottish body responsible for monitoring the welfare and rights of people with mental illness, learning disability, and related conditions. Operates overlapping scrutiny functions over a subset of providers also regulated by Care Inspectorate.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Care Inspectorate social profiles
Digital presenceCare Inspectorate financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Care Inspectorate leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Care Inspectorate funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Care Inspectorate M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Care Inspectorate
What does Care Inspectorate do?
Care Inspectorate is Scotland's national assurance and improvement support body for social care services and social work. It registers, inspects, and grades care services including care homes, nurseries, childminders, fostering and adoption agencies, and supports care providers with quality improvement programmes. It also maintains a public register of care services, handles complaints from the public, and publishes strategic scrutiny reports on local partnership performance.
Is Care Inspectorate a public or private company?
Care Inspectorate is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Care Inspectorate founded?
Care Inspectorate was founded in 2011. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Care Inspectorate based?
Care Inspectorate is headquartered in Dundee, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Care Inspectorate make money?
One revenue line is on record: government Funding.
Who are Care Inspectorate's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Ofsted, Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) and Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS). Direct peers are Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW), Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) and Care Quality Commission (CQC). Others are Inspection Support Network (ISN) and Disclosure Scotland. Regional players are Social Care Wales and Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland.
Does Care Inspectorate have an API?
No public API is recorded for Care Inspectorate.
What industry is Care Inspectorate in?
Care Inspectorate's product category is Social Care Regulation. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDACAKAB, Regulatory Compliance Audits & Inspections, with a secondary code of EDADAGAI, Safeguarding, Student Welfare & Child Protection Compliance Audits.