Ms Carol Grogan:

As with any other regulator, we are not the most welcome of visitors when we arrive at the door. However, providers understand that regulation is there to protect people who use services. I recently undertook a survey of providers, which asked their opinion of how we approach regulation in our engagement with them. I was heartened to see that the vast majority of providers reported that we have a shared vision, which is about improving the quality of life for people who use services. They fully understand the reason for regulation. Most providers are very open and transparent with us. That is evidenced by the fact the vast majority of services last year had just one inspection and we did not have to escalate. With any provider where there are concerns and where we are entering into escalated enforcement action we run into difficulties, but we have powers under the Act to require providers to give us information. However, the vast majority of providers are very open and transparent with us.