1(1)The Care Standards Act 2000 is amended as follows.E+W
(2)After section 75 (obstruction etc) insert—
(1)This section applies where it appears to the Commissioner that a case which he is—
(a)examining in accordance with regulations made under section 74, or
(b)considering whether to examine in accordance with such regulations,
relates to or raises a matter which could be the subject of an examination by the Commissioner for Older People in Wales (the ‘connected matter’).
(2)Where the Commissioner considers it appropriate, he must inform the Commissioner for Older People in Wales about the connected matter.
(3)Where the Commissioner considers that the case also relates to or raises a matter which he is entitled to examine himself (‘the children matter’), he must also if he considers it appropriate—
(a)inform the Commissioner for Older People in Wales about the Commissioner's proposals for the examination of the case; and
(b)consult the Commissioner for Older People in Wales about those proposals.
(4)Where the Commissioner and the Commissioner for Older People in Wales consider that they are entitled to examine, respectively, the children matter and the connected matter they may—
(a)co-operate with each other in the separate examination of each of those matters;
(b)act together in the examination of those matters; and
(c)prepare and publish a joint report containing their respective conclusions in relation to the matters they have each examined.
(5)Where the Commissioner considers—
(a)that the case is not one which relates to or raises a matter that he is entitled to examine himself, and
(b)that it is appropriate to do so,
he must inform the person whose case it is, or another person interested in it that he thinks fit, about how to secure the referral to the Commissioner for Older People in Wales of the connected matter.”
(3)In section 76 (further functions) in subsection (5), after “in particular” insert “ (a) ” and at the end insert—
“(b)provide that the Commissioner may make a joint report with the Commissioner for Older People in Wales where they have discharged their respective functions under this Act and the Commissioner for Older People (Wales) Act 2006 in relation to the same matters.”