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Appendix 3: The Consultation Process

Aims of the overall consultation

There were two key elements to this study:

1. A programme of information events and focus groups. These provided different groups of individuals and organisations with information on the proposals set out in the consultation document, and gave them an opportunity to give their views. These ran alongside the consultation process. This ensured that all relevant parties throughout Scotland were given an opportunity to explore the issues covered by the consultation.

2. Public consultation. Intended to produce an analysis and summary of written responses to the consultation document, alongside a database of responses.

It was intended that the results of these two elements will feed into the final form of the legislation.

George Street Research was commissioned to conduct an analysis of the consultation responses, the information events, the focus groups and the in-depth interviews.

Where respondents to the consultation have agreed to have their response made public, these responses have been made available in the Scottish Executive Library as well as on the Scottish Executive web site, alongside a copy of this report which provides an analysis of all responses.

Specific Objectives of the Information Events

Information events included a broad range of individuals and others with an interest, across a range of different locations and from a range of different backgrounds. The Scottish Civic Forum produced a briefing paper (see Appendix 2).

Each event was "participant friendly" and focused on the information provided in the consultation document and the briefing paper. The main element of each event was discussion groups to encourage maximum participation.

Specific objectives of the qualitative discussions

The aim of the qualitative discussions was to capture the views of specific groups involved in any way in the disclosure process and / or working with children and adults at risk. They explored particular concerns or issues for people in those particular groups and provided a less public environment than the discussion groups at the Scottish Civic Forum events.

Specific objectives of the consultation component:

• Provide an analysis of responses (written and electronic) to the consultation grouped under the consultation themes, questions and respondent group
• Produce a database of responses that enable analysis by question or group
• Identify the main interest groups responding to the consultation and their views about the consultation themes
• Present an overview of the full range of views emerging
• Identify the full range of views on each specific proposal, together with any comments or suggestions on how these proposals could be implemented, along with any other related comments
• Identify any barriers to implementation and how to overcome these barriers
• Identify queries raised, potential problems that were highlighted and suggested recommendations
• Identify and highlight contradictions and anomalies that emerged in the analysis
• Identify variations in responses of different groups
• Identify groups where the response rate was poor and indicate which voices remained silent in the consultation.

Components of the consultation

The Consultation Document

As part of the legislative process, the Executive was keen to obtain views from individuals and organisations to comment in a structured way on aspects of the proposed new Vetting and Barring System. A consultation document - Protecting Vulnerable Groups: Scottish Vetting and Barring Scheme - was issued by the Children, Young People and Social Care Analytical Services Unit within the Education Department at the Scottish Executive. This set out the policy background and was structured around a series of key recommendations and asked for views on the recommendations made in the consultation document.

The consultation was distributed to a wide range of individuals and organisations. The consultation was available on the Scottish Executive website.

A series of 24 questions were posed in the consultation in relation to the suggested proposals, although respondents were also welcome to provide views on any related issues if they wished. The list of questions was not intended to restrict responses, rather to stimulate responses across a number of specific areas.

Public Consultation Events

A programme of information meetings were organised by the Scottish Civic Forum during the consultation period to support the consultation process, with the aim of bringing the issue to the public eye and encouraging a wider range of individuals and members of the general public to respond to the consultation.

The information events ⁴ consisted of a series of four public meetings ⁵ in different parts of Scotland which were run by the Scottish Civic Forum and convened by representatives of the Scottish Civic Forum. The information meetings were intended to allow people to find out more about the system and have an opportunity to discuss the proposals, clarify issues and highlight concerns or potential problems.

At each meeting personnel from the Scottish Executive gave a presentation introducing the issues at stake, and outlining the key questions of concern within the consultation. Two series of break out group discussions were then run by Scottish Civic Forum representatives, each followed by plenary feedback, and question and answer sessions.

Each discussion group was given the same set of three scenarios for each of the discussion sessions. These were produced by the Scottish Executive and were based on points raised at two earlier meetings held by the Executive in Edinburgh and Glasgow in March. The scenarios focused on specific themes and copies of these are appended to this report (see appendix 1). The facilitator or chair in each group was asked to hand in an annotated template, from which they had fed back two main agreed points in the plenary sessions. Other participants were also asked to leave their sheets recording their comments. Most participants left their comments, but some wanted to retain them as an aide memoire for themselves. In Aberdeen, the only sheets returned were those of the facilitators. Participants were invited to either look in detail at one scenario, look at all three or focus on other concerns as they felt appropriate. The themes for the first table discussion in the morning were: Coverage of the workforce; Costs and lifetime of disclosure; and Information sharing. The second table discussion after lunch focused on the themes: Central Barring Unit; Barred lists; and Implementation.

The principal findings from the discussion sessions were summarised in reports produced by the Scottish Civic Forum and these are available from the Scottish Executive.

The public consultation events aimed to:

• target a broad range of individuals who have an interest, or have had any form of involvement, in the disclosure process in Scotland
• be "participant friendly" and focus on the information provided in the consultation document
• obtain informal soundings of the main themes arising in relation to the proposals contained in the consultation document.

The events were attended by a range of different individuals, including professionals, individuals from within the voluntary sector and others with an interest in the proposals.

A copy of the briefing paper prepared by the Scottish Civic Forum and presented at each event is provided in Appendix 2. A summary report detailing the main findings from these events written by the Scottish Civic Forum who facilitated the discussions and recorded the key points emerging at each is available from the Scottish Executive.

The key issues raised at the events reflected the main points that emerged during the consultation and have been taken into account during the larger analysis. The pertinent findings from the information events have been identified throughout the analysis in the relevant sections.

Focus Groups and In-depth Interviews

The information events were intended to ensure broad access to the consultation process, while the qualitative discussions were intended to be more deliberative in nature and concentrated on accessing the views of particular groups of interest, including

• Voluntary organisations
• Regulatory bodies
• Local authorities
• Carer groups involved in dealing with children and adults at risk
• Rehabilitation of offenders
• The police and judiciary
• Employers and employees in education, care and leisure settings

A total of 39 respondents participated in the qualitative discussions and their profile is provided in the table below.

Respondent Profile
(Base: All respondents participating in focus groups & in-depth interviews)

Timing of the consultation

The consultation ran from 8 February 2005 to 2 May 2006. In total, 189 responses were received by 8 May and were included in the analysis. These provided a wide range of views and information for consideration. Three of these responses were letters indicating that the organisations concerned would not be submitting a response. Therefore the total number of responses included in the analysis is 186.

Distribution of consultation document

A key concern was to develop a consultation document that encouraged a wide range of individuals, groups and organisations to submit their views. The consultation paper was also on the Scottish Executive website for any interested individuals.

Consultation papers were distributed to a wide range of organisations and bodies with a professional interest.

These included:

• Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland ( ACPOS)
• Care service providers
• Chief Constables
• Convention of Scottish Local Authorities ( COSLA)
• Crown Office
• Disability Rights Commission
• Disclosure Scotland
• Faith groups
• Housing Associations
• Law Society of Scotland
• Local Authority Chief Executives
• Local Authority Directors of Education / Social Work / Finance / Children's Services
• Lord President and Lord Justice General
• Minority ethnic groups
• NHS Board Chief Executives
• Parent, carer and volunteer groups
• Political parties
• Professional regulatory and representative bodies
• Scottish Court Service
• Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People
• Scottish Further Education Colleges
• Scottish Higher Education Institutes
• School and teacher representative bodies
• Sheriffs, Sheriff Principals and Sheriff's Association
• Unions
• Voluntary organisations.

In order to stimulate greater awareness of the consultation, the Scottish Civic Forum was commissioned to organise a series of four events across Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Executive.

Responses and respondents

A total of 186 completed responses to the consultation were analysed. The consultation documentation included a structured response form and the majority of respondents chose to present their comments using this format.

Responses to specific consultation questions were analysed using an Access database, which enabled comments on each question to be grouped together, compared and, where possible, quantified.

In total there were 172 responses from professionals/ organisations and these respondents were able to base their views on their professional and/or personal experience and insight into the issues. Only 12 responses were submitted by individuals and 2 responses were submitted by individuals who chose not to identify themselves.

The consultation documentation included a list of sectors and respondees were invited to tick those that applied to their organisation.

While many responses from Local Authorities were from specific departments including Social Work and Education, a significant number had classed themselves as "Other" and could not be assigned to a more specific grouping. These have been analysed under an extra heading of "Local Authority".

Some respondents did not include category information with their responses. Where possible these have been assigned to the most suitable respondent type.

The numbers and percentage of the total responding to the consultation within each of these groups are shown in table 2.2. As the table shows, the largest number of organisational responses was received from Voluntary Organisations - 44 responses were received in this category. These constituted 26% of the total number of organisations and 24% of the total number of responses to the consultation. A proportionately large number of organisational responses (42) were received from those categorising their organisation as "Education".

Gaps in Respondent Type

A scan of the respondent list along with a review of the respondent organisations revealed no obvious gaps, although the two types of organisation least well represented were those describing themselves as representing Parent or Carers, and those representing the Early Years sector.

Total number of Respondents by Category
(Base: All Consultees)

* Organisations describing themselves as "Other" include professional bodies, trade unions, private companies and associations.

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