Scotland’s care regulator, the Care Inspectorate, today announced the appointment of its new Chief Executive, Annette Bruton.
Currently Director of Education, Culture and Sport with the Aberdeen City Council, Ms Bruton will join the Care Inspectorate early in the New Year. She will lead the organisation as it develops new proportionate, targeted and intelligence-led approaches to the regulation and inspection of care services, social work departments and child protection.
Born in East Lothian, Ms Bruton trained and worked as a Geography teacher before moving into Learning Support and Special Educational Needs. She joined HM Inspectorate of Education in 2001 and was appointed as Chief Inspector in 2005 where she played a key role in developing the successful multi-agency child protection inspections. She joined Aberdeen City Council in 2009, where her successful tenure has seen her lead the city’s delivery of education, cultural and sporting services.
The Care Inspectorate was formed in April of this year as Scotland’s national social care regulator and has been led by interim Chief Executive Jacquie Roberts since it was established. Commenting on the appointment, Care Inspectorate Chair, Professor Frank Clark, paid tribute to Jacquie Roberts and looked forward to Annette Bruton joining the organisation, saying:
“I am very pleased to announce that that we have appointed Annette Bruton as our new, substantive Chief Executive.
“In addition to her time as a Local Government Director, Annette has sound knowledge, skills and experience of scrutiny having served a Chief Inspector with HMIE for over eight years. She impressed the appointment panel with her energy, drive and enthusiasm and her commitment to developing the role of scrutiny in the current dynamic public service landscape.
“This appointment marks a milestone in the development of our organisation, but I want to take a moment to pay tribute to the work of Jacquie Roberts both here at the Care Inspectorate and in the Care Commission. It is difficult to overestimate the number of people across Scotland who have benefited from more personal, higher quality care as a result of Jacquie’s leadership.
“In finding Jacquie’s successor, we were looking for an inspirational and dynamic leader with the drive, understanding, vision, and experience we need. That is exactly what we have found in Annette Bruton and I know from my discussions with her, that Annette is looking forward to joining us early in 2012.”
Welcoming the appointment, Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy, Nicola Sturgeon, said:
“I welcome Annette Bruton’s appointment and look forward to her making a substantial contribution to improving care, social work and child protection services across Scotland.
“The skills, experience and proven track record of success Annette brings with her will be a great asset and I am sure this experience will stand her in good stead in her work to continue the delivery of a scrutiny regime that ensures quality, compassionate care for all people that need it.”
Commenting on the announcement of her appointment, Ms Bruton said:
“The Care Inspectorate is at the heart of Scotland’s drive to improve standards across social care and I am delighted to be appointed to this role.
“This is a crucial time for the organisation as we develop targeted, proportionate and intelligence-led scrutiny and inspections. There are real challenges and opportunities for us. Care of older people has been identified a national priority by the Scottish Government, the integration of health and social care is a major strategic change and working with other agencies to improve care has never been more important.
“The Care Inspectorate has a strong record of making a real difference to the lives of people the length and breadth of the country and I am confident we can build on that strong record.”