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Consultation Letter

14 December 2007

Dear Colleague

CONSULTATION ON THE CODE OF PRACTICE FOR PART 1 OF THE ADULT SUPPORT AND PROTECTION (SCOTLAND) ACT 2007 ( ASP) AND ASSOCIATED REGULATIONS ON PERFORMING COUNCIL OFFICER FUNCTIONS

Part 1 of ASP is scheduled to commence in Autumn 2008. What this does is to introduce new measures for the protection of adults at risk of harm. These include rights of entry to settings where adults are thought to be at risk of harm, a range of protection orders including assessment, removal and banning orders and the creation of multi-disciplinary Adult Protection Committees. Further information about the Act can be accessed through this link: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/care/VAUnit/ProtectingVA

The ASP was introduced to complete a suite of legislation relating to adult protection. It has been suggested that a comparison chart between the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000, the Mental Health (Care and Treatment)(Scotland) Act 2003 and the ASP be issued. Our intention is to issue guidance including such matters as definitions, underpinning principles, the need for urgent intervention, investigations and the duty to inquire, co-operation, entry, removal and detention powers and access to records in the future. However, as an aid to respondents, summaries of the 2000 and 2003 Acts can be accessed through these links: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/55971/0015983.pdf http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/Civil/awi

A national group of key stakeholders is working collaboratively with the Scottish Government to prepare for successful implementation of the ASP by further developing policy and by designing the necessary information and guidance for practitioners to help them discharge their functions. The attached draft code of practice and discussion paper on the role of the council officers represents their first outputs. So the purpose of this consultation is to ensure that the advice contained in the code of practice is accurate, practical and realistic and that council officer regulations precisely reflect the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience necessary to undertake the functions set out in sections 7 - 11, 14,16 and 18 of the Act. As responses are particularly welcome from those individuals who will be working with the code on a day-to-day basis, it would be extremely helpful if you could make this consultation paper available to relevant staff in your organisation.

There are no specific questions on the code. However, we welcome your views on whether there is sufficient advice on what to do in particular situations. For example, we have had several discussions on whether the text would be enriched by including some illustrative case studies. Please indicate clearly in your response which chapter and/or paragraphs you are commenting on as this will help our analysis of the responses received.

There are two proposals and a series of related questions about the role of the council officer. These are embedded in the council officer paper. During the progression of the ASP Bill through Parliament, members of the Health Committee required reassurances that only those who were suitable to undertake the council officer function should be permitted to do so. This consultation fulfils the commitment made then to seek the views of practitioners on the way forward. We are particularly interested in how to ensure that those who may be being harmed have sufficient confidence and trust to disclose the details of their circumstances.

I would like to thank you in advance for your contribution to this important consultation. What follows is an explanation of the standard procedures, processes and deadlines.

Yours sincerely

Jean MacLellan

HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS CONSULTATION

Deadline for receipt of responses

We invite written responses to this consultation paper by 21 March 2008. Please also complete and return the respondent information form attached to this letter.

Address for responses

Please send your response, including completed respondent information form, to:

ASPunit@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
or
Adult Support and Protection Consultation
Adult Care and Support Change Team

Comments, queries, alternative formats

If you have any comments or queries about this consultation document or if you would like it in hard copy or in an alternative format, please contact Lynn Anderson on 0131 244 3287 or e-mail Lynn.Anderson@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Scottish Government website

Along with all other Scottish Government consultation exercises, this consultation document can be viewed online on the Scottish Government consultation web pages at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations. You can telephone Freephone 0800 77 1234 to find out where your nearest public internet access point is.

Handling your response

We need to know how you wish your response to be handled and, in particular, whether you are happy for your response to be made public. Please complete and return (either on-line or by post if you are completing the consultation manually) the Respondent Information Form as this will ensure that we treat your response appropriately. If you ask for your response not to be published we will regard it as confidential, and we will treat it accordingly.

You should be aware that the Scottish Government is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and would therefore have to consider any request made to it under the Act for information relating to responses made to this consultation exercise.

Where respondents give permission for their response to be made public, these will be made available to the public in the Scottish Government Library and on the Scottish Government consultation web pages by 30 April 2008. We will check all responses where agreement to publish has been given for any potentially defamatory material before logging them in the library or placing them on the website. You can make arrangements to view responses by contacting the Scottish Government Library on 0131 244 4552. Responses can be copied and sent to you, but a charge may be made for this service.

Analysis and reporting of responses

Following the closing date, all responses will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence to help us reach decisions. We will issue a report on this consultation process in the spring of 2008.

Comments and complaints

If you have any comments about how this consultation exercise has been conducted, please send them to:

Lynn Anderson
Adult Care and Support Change Team

THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION PROCESS

Consultation is an essential and important aspect of Scottish Government working methods. Given the wide-ranging areas of work of the Scottish Government, there are many varied types of consultation. However, in general, Scottish Government consultation exercises aim to provide opportunities for all those who wish to express their opinions on a proposed area of work to do so in ways which will inform and enhance that work.

The Scottish Government encourages consultation that is thorough, effective and appropriate to the issue under consideration and the nature of the target audience. Consultation exercises take account of a wide range of factors, and no two exercises are likely to be the same.

Typically Scottish Government consultations involve a written paper inviting answers to specific questions or more general views about the material presented. Written papers are distributed to organisations and individuals with an interest in the issue, and they are also placed on the Scottish Government web site enabling a wider audience to access the paper and submit their responses. Consultation exercises may also involve seeking views in a number of different ways, such as through public meetings, focus groups or questionnaire exercises. Copies of all the written responses received to a consultation exercise (except those where the individual or organisation requested confidentiality) are placed in the Scottish Government library at Saughton House, Edinburgh (K Spur, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3XD, telephone 0131 244 4565).

All Scottish Government consultation papers and related publications ( e.g., analysis of response reports) can be accessed at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations

The views and suggestions detailed in consultation responses are analysed and used as part of the decision making process, along with a range of other available information and evidence. Depending on the nature of the consultation exercise the responses received may:

• indicate the need for policy development or review;
• inform the development of a particular policy;
• help decisions to be made between alternative policy proposals; and
• be used to finalise legislation before it is implemented.

Final decisions on the issues under consideration will also take account of a range of other

factors, including other available information and research evidence.

While details of particular circumstances described in a response to a consultation exercise may usefully inform the policy process, consultation exercises cannot address individual concerns and comments, which should be directed to the relevant public body.

RESPONDENT INFORMATION

CONSULTATION ON THE CODE OF PRACTICE FOR PART 1 OF THE ADULT SUPPORT AND PROTECTION (SCOTLAND) ACT 2007 ( ASP) AND ASSOCIATED REGULATIONS ON PERFORMING COUNCIL OFFICER FUNCTIONS

Respondent Information

Please complete the details below and return it with your response. This will help ensure we handle your response appropriately. Thank you for your help.

Consultee list

Academy of Royal Colleges and Faculties in Scotland
ACPOS
Action of Churches together in Scotland
Association of Directors of Social Work
Association of Scottish Colleges
Advocates Library
Apex Trust
Archdiocese of Glasgow Social Services

British Association of Social Workers
British Dental Association (Scotland)
British Federation of Care Home Proprietors
British Geriatrics Society (Scotland)
British Medical Association Scotland
British Psychological Society
British Psychological Society Division of Clinical Psychology

Care Commission
Carers organisations
Centre for Independent Living in Glasgow
Chief Constables
Chief Executives, Local Authorities
Chief Executives, NHS Boards
Chief Executives, NHS Boards Operating Divisions
Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland Board of Responsibility
Citizen's Advice Bureau Scotland
Clerk of the Committee at the Scottish Parliament
College of Occupational Therapy
Commission for Racial Equality
Commissioner for Local Administration in Scotland
Communities Scotland
Community and District Nursing Association
Community Psychiatric Nurses Association
Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
Crown Office
CVS Scotland

Departmental Committee Liaison Officer ( DCLO)
Directors of Housing, Local Authorities
Directors of Social Work, Local Authorities
Disability Rights Commission Office for Scotland
Disclosure Scotland

Enable Scotland
Equal Opportunities Commission
Equality and Human Rights Reference Group
Equality Network

General Medical Council Scotland

Head of Children's Services, Local Authorities
Health Professions Council Scotland
Housing Associations

Inclusion Scotland

Law Society of Scotland
Legal Services Agency
Lord President and Lord Justice General, High Court of Justiciary

Medical & Dental Defence Union of Scotland
Medical Defence Union
Medical Protection Society
Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland
Minority Ethnic Groups

NHS Health Scotland
NHS National Services Scotland
Nursing and Midwifery Council

Office of the Public Guardian

Quality Improvement Scotland

Royal College of Anaesthetists
Royal College of General Practitioners
Royal College of Nursing and Midwifery
Royal College of Nursing Scotland
Royal College of Physicians
Royal College of Psychiatrists (Scottish Division)
Royal College of Speech Therapists

SACRO
Scottish Association of Care Home Owners
Scottish Association of Health Councils
Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters
Scottish Care
Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability
Scottish Council for Community and
Voluntary Organisations
Scottish Council of Independent Care
Scottish Further Education Colleges
Scottish Further Education Unit
Scottish General Practitioners Committee
Scottish Government Library
Scottish Health Services Centre
Scottish Higher Education Institutes
Scottish Human Rights Centre
Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance
Scottish Information Commissioner
Scottish Institute of Human Relations
Scottish Inter Faith Council
Scottish Legal Aid Board
Scottish Law Commission
Scottish National Commission for Catholic
Social Care
Scottish MEPs
Scottish Parliament Information Centre Library
Scottish Police College
Scottish Police Federation
Scottish Prison Service
Scottish Refugee Council
Scottish Social Services Council
Scottish University and College Research Centres
SCRE
SCVO
Sheriff Principals
Sheriffs' Association
Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance
Social Service Board of the Episcopal Church of Scotland
Social Work Inspection Agency
Society of Local Authority Lawyers & Administrators in Scotland
State Hospital for Scotland
STUC

The Bodleian Library, Oxford
The British Library
The Library of Trinity College, Dublin
The University of Library, Cambridge
The National Library of Scotland
The National Library of Wales

Unison
Universities Scotland

Victim Support (Scotland)
Voluntary organisations in the field of equality
Voluntary organisations in the field of learning disability and ASD
Voluntary organisations in the field of mental health
Voluntary organisations in the field of older people
Voluntary organisations in the field of physical disabilities
Voluntary organisations in the field of sensory impairment
Voluntary organisations that provide care services
Voluntary organisations that provide supported accommodation
Volunteer Development Scotland
Vulnerable Adults Alliance Scotland

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