This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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New powers to improve child protection
31/10/2005
Moves to further underpin reform in Scotland's child protection system were unveiled today.
The Joint Inspection of Children's Services and Inspection of Social Work Services (Scotland) Bill will introduce new legal powers of joint inspection and access to information for those involved in inspecting children's services.
The Bill was introduced following pilot joint inspections in Highland and East Dunbartonshire when it became clear that organisations were not certain about what information they could, and could not, lawfully share with the inspection teams.
Education Minister Peter Peacocksaid:
"Tough, thorough and joined-up inspection systems for children's services are crucial to help protect the most vulnerable in our society.
"There's a need to focus on how agencies work together for children, and joint inspections will ensure that inspection teams can fully access and share the information they need to complete their investigations effectively.
"This legislation will reinforce an already robust inspection regime by strengthening protocols and procedures on access to information.
"As a result organisations and individuals will be in no doubt that it will be lawful to share information with inspection teams. They will also be reassured that information about individuals and confidentiality will be respected, protected and maintained."
The Bill applies to agencies such as: Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE), the Social Work Inspection Agency (SWIA), Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary (HMCIC), the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care (SCRC) and NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) and sets out to ensure that inspectors, as well as the individuals and organisations from which they may require to obtain information, are aware of the legal requirement and protocols involved in such information sharing.
The key elements of the Bill make provision for:
- inspection teams to be provided with relevant information and explanations pertinent to that information from individuals and agencies
- the sharing of this information within inspection teams
- the requirement that this information is held in compliance with prescribed conditions and adheres to Data Protection and Human Rights legislation
- inspectors to enter any premises for the purposes of inspection
- the creation of offences to enable enforcement of the legislation
Plans for the joint inspection of child protection were launched by HMIE at a conference in Edinburgh in November 2004, and there has been extensive consultation on the methods of inspection to be followed. Ministers have also consulted with a range of interested organisations on the issues relating to access to personal information, including meeting health organisations on access to health records.