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Chapter 3 - COMMON THEMES
Introduction
This chapter looks broadly at some of the overarching or common themes and questions raised about concepts or terminology that emerged from the consultation.
General support of the principles
Most respondents were very supportive of the intentions behind Part 1 of the draft Bill to enable and support early and proportionate action, with effective inter-agency involvement where appropriate. Please refer to specific statistics for a breakdown of responses.
Generally, those agencies working with children with disabilities, and their families, were particularly positive about the broad approach to 'needs' and 'well-being'.
The responses to Part 2 of the draft Bill were generally very supportive of the provisions and the need for them, other than those relating to secure accommodation. Several respondents provided detailed suggestions on fine-tuning some of the provisions.
The need for legislation?
However, while supportive of the intentions, some respondents queried the need for legislation to achieve delivery of effective, timely and proportionate help for children. This was on the basis that such action was possible under existing statutory duties and powers and also that the new duties in Part 1 were so broad that by themselves they would not necessarily bring about appropriate practice change.
Others queried the likely effect of the Part 1 duties on the basis that they were so broad that the pool of children to whom duties were owed would increase significantly and there would be continuing prioritisation of cases in a perceived climate of limited resources - with children subject to compulsory measures of supervision or with immediate child protection concerns at the top end and some children with needs receiving very little or no help. However there were also respondents who saw the benefits of early preventative inter agency action.
Resources
Many respondents expressed the view that the changes to be made under Getting it right for every child would result in increased costs. All respondents who made comments in this area referred to increased costs, while none referred to any reduction in costs which might be expected, even where it was recognised that workloads in certain areas would be likely to decline over time.
Respondents also commented that even when decisions are not resource led, they will often be resource constrained. Even the best systems and practices in assessment and planning will always be associated to some extent with prioritisation of risks and needs.
Timing
Some respondents suggested there would be benefit in waiting for more information from the pathfinder projects before proceeding with legislation to create new duties.
Information Sharing
Some respondents indicated a need for clarity on information sharing. Some raised particular concerns that the Part 1 duties on agencies could lead to 'over-sharing' information. Others focussed on the issue of IT support for information sharing.
Fit with current legislation and structures
Many respondents highlighted the need to ensure a clear fit with existing legislation, processes and policies, particularly the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 and children's services planning. Some respondents suggested the focus should be on review of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.
Also highlighted was the need to ensure a good fit between the Part 1 duties in the draft Bill and the criteria for referral to the reporter.
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