Adult Protection Committees biennial reports 2012-14: summary report

Adult Protection Committees

3. All local authority areas continue to be represented by an Adult Protection Committee. There are twenty nine Committees and twenty five convenors. There are four Committees that are either joint Committees or are chaired by a single Convenor (Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray; Clackmannan and Stirling; East and Midlothian; and East Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire).

4. Convenors were asked to summarise the working of the Committee, including typical agendas/standing items, membership, frequency of meeting, subcommittees, support arrangements, and accountability/governance arrangements and responses indicated:

a) Typical standing items focussed on the sharing of knowledge between the agencies involved in adult support and protection and from linking groups.

b) Membership of committees were reported to involve a range of representatives, with every committee reported to include a range of council representatives as well as police and NHS representation. This not only reflects the multi-agency nature of adult support and protection work but also the legislative requirement for these bodies to co-operate with councils.

Other bodies also under a duty to co-operate include the Care Inspectorate and they were reported to be a member of a small number of committees. Others under a similar duty but not represented on Committees were the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and the Office of the Public Guardian. The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland and the Office of the Public Guardian were reported to have provided welcome support for seminars and workshops on individual topics.

Some committees include other representatives such as those from voluntary, advocacy and carers organisations. Fire and rescue representatives, GP representatives, the Scottish Ambulance Service, a Learning Disability Forum and the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration were also reported to be involved in a small number of committees.

c) APCs typically meet 4-6 times a year with attendance and participation consistently reported to be good.

d) The operational responsibility for delivery of Adult Protection Services typically lies with the Head of Service in local authorities, Health and the Police. Accountability and governance was reported as typically being through a Chief Officers' Group or a similar named group.

5. Issues reported in the reports by some Convenors was the turnover of members as well as some difficulty involving GPs. Since the last biennial reports a small number of councils had, however, reported success in gaining GP membership on the Committee. A number of Convenors reported moves towards making or strengthening links with child protection and public protection more generally.