Establishing a statutory appropriate adult service in Scotland: consultation analysis

Background

The role of an Appropriate Adult is primarily to facilitate communication during police procedures between the police and vulnerable adults aged 16 and over who have communication difficulties as a result of a mental disorder.

Existing Appropriate Adult services are delivered on a non-statutory basis and, as a consequence, the way in which services are delivered varies across the country.

The Scottish Government intends to use regulation-making powers in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 (“the 2016 Act”)^[1] to establish a statutory Appropriate Adult service to help ensure that vulnerable people who come into contact with the justice system receive the same level of high quality support across Scotland.

Section 105 of the 2016 Act requires Ministers to consult publically prior to laying such regulations.

The consultation sought views in relation to the following topics:

• The definition of who should get support from Appropriate Adults
• The definition of what Appropriate Adult support should be
• The proposal to place a duty on local authorities to deliver Appropriate Adult services
• The proposal to place a duty on local authorities to deliver Appropriate Adult training
• The proposal to place a duty on the Care Inspectorate to carry out a quality assessment role in relation to the provision of Appropriate Adult services
• The proposal to place a duty on the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland for the oversight of Appropriate Adult services