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COVERING LETTER

20 May 2008

Dear Colleague

CONSULTATION ON GUIDANCE FOR ADULT PROTECTION COMMITTEES ( APCs) ESTABLISHED UNDER PART 1 OF THE ADULT SUPPORT AND PROTECTION (SCOTLAND) ACT 2007 ( ASP)

Part 1 of ASP, scheduled to commence in Autumn 2008, introduces 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, the introduction of a range of protection orders including assessment, removal and banning orders and the creation of local multi-agency Adult Protection Committees ( APCs) across Scotland. Further information about the Act can be accessed through this link: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/care/VAUnit/ProtectingVA

I invite you to comment on the attached draft guidance for APCs. It has been prepared under section 47 of ASP which requires APCs and councils to have regard to any guidance issued by the Scottish Ministers about their functions under sections 42 to 46 of the Act. Responses are required by 19 August 2008.

This consultation exercise aims to provide you with an opportunity to express your opinion about the proposed guidance and to do so in a way that will inform and enhance this. Although there are no specific questions on the guidance we welcome your views. Please indicate clearly in your response which paragraph(s) you are commenting on as this will help our analysis of the responses received.

Thank you in advance for your contribution to this important consultation.

Yours sincerely

Jean MacLellan
Deputy Director
Primary and Community Care Directorate

HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS CONSULTATION

Deadline for receipt of responses

We invite written responses to this consultation paper by 19 August 2008. Please also complete and return the respondent information form attached to this letter at Annex A.

Address for responses

Please send your response, including completed respondent information form, to: ASPunit@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

or

Adult Protection Committee Consultation
Adult Protection Legislation Team
Scottish Government

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 Susie Watson on 0131 244 3633 or e-mail ASPunit@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

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 in Autumn 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 Autumn.

Comments and complaints

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

Susie Watson
Adult Protection Committee Consultation
Adult Protection Legislation 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.

ANNEX A

RESPONDENT INFORMATION

Consultee list

ACPOS
Advocates Library
APEX Scotland
Association of Directors of Social Work
Association of Scottish Local Authority Health Improvement Officers

British Association of Social Workers
British Federation of Care Home Proprietors
British Medical Association Scotland

Care Commission
Carers Scotland
Chief Constables
Chief Executives, Local Authorities
Chief Executives, NHS Boards
Chief Executives, NHS Boards Operating Divisions
Citizen's Advice Bureau Scotland
Clerk of the Committee at the Scottish Parliament
Community Care Providers Scotland
Community District Nursing Association
Community Psychiatric Nurses Association
Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
Crown Office

Departmental Committee Liaison Officer ( DCLO)
Directors of Housing, Local Authorities
Directors of Social Work, Local Authorities
Disclosure Scotland

Edinburgh, Lothian and Borders Executive Group ( ELBEG)
Enable Scotland
Equality and Human Rights Commission
Equality Network

General Medical Council Scotland

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

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

NHS Health Scotland
NHS National Services Scotland
NHS Quality Improvement Scotland
Nursing and Midwifery Council

Office of the Public Guardian

Princess Royal Trust for CarersRoyal 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
SAMH
Scottish Association of Care Home Owners
Scottish Association of Health Councils
Scottish Care
Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability
Scottish Council for Community and Voluntary Organisations
Scottish Council of Independent Care
Scottish Federation of Housing Associations
Scottish General Practitioners Committee
Scottish Government Library
Scottish Health Services Centre
Scottish Human Rights Centre
Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance
Scottish Information Commissioner
Scottish Legal Aid Board
Scottish Law Commission
Scottish Parliament Information Centre Library
Scottish Police College
Scottish Police Federation
Scottish Prison Service
Scottish Social Services Council
SENSE
Sheriff Principals
Sheriffs' Association
Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance
Social Work Inspection Agency
State Hospital for Scotland
STUC

Unison

Vulnerable Adults Alliance Scotland

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