Adult Supp ort & Protection ( Scotland) Act Implementation Group
Thursday 26 April 2007
10:00-14:00
(Lunch 12:30)
Present
Jean MacLellan, SE Health Department: Adult Care and Support - Change Team (Chair)
Diane Strachan, SE Health Department: Adult Care and Support - Change Team
Dave McLeod, SE Health Department: Adult Care and Support - Change Team
Lucy Millard, SE Health Department: Adult Care and Support - Change Team
Gill Swapp, Care Commission
George Kappler (in place of Margaret Anne Gilbert), Mental Welfare Commission
Jan Baird, NHS Highland
Andy Miller, Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability
Dorothy Sutherland, Vulnerable Adults Alliance Scotland
Val de Souza, Association of Directors of Social Work
Sandra McDougall, Scottish Association for Mental Health
Nicola Smith, Enable Scotland
Steve Porter (in place of David Cumming), Social Work Inspection Agency
Ronnie Barnes, British Association of Social Workers
Jan Killeen, SE Justice Department: Adults with Incapacity/Trusts/Succession
James Elder-Woodward, Inclusion Scotland
Apologies
Linda Headland, Community Care Providers Scotland
Dr Mini Mishra, SE Health Department: Primary Care Division
Dr Andrew Fraser, Scottish Prison Service
Linda Allan, NHS Glasgow
Sam Sinclair, Community Care Providers Scotland
Peter Willox, Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland
Geraldine Doherty, Scottish Social Services Council
Gerard McEneany, Apex Scotland
Ann Ferguson, Age Concern
Bill Skelly, Association of Scottish Police Superintendents
James Hogg, Dundee University
1. Welcome and introductions
Jean MacLellan welcomed all members to the first meeting of the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act Implementation Group. Group members then introduced themselves and outlined what they could contribute to the group.
Steve Porter passed round a short paper, produced by SWIA, comparing findings about social work practice in adult protection as compared with child protection for the group to consider. In discussing the paper, the point was made that social work had a duty to empower service users and to allow them to take risks where appropriate.
All members agreed that the code of practice would be a vital tool in the implementation of the Act, which would provide practitioners with guidance, rather than to offer blanket solutions. However, it was noted that professional judgement will remain of the utmost importance.
2. Consideration of role, remit and membership of the Group
The group agreed that the role, remit and minutes of meetings could be published on the Scottish Executive website.
It was also agreed that the group would consider issues relating to the implementation of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act, as well as overlapping issues with other associated legislation (such as the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act and its associated codes of practice).
It was recognised that it was important for group members to take responsibility for feeding back information to their respective organisations and take the implementation of the Act forward in a pro-active way where possible. It was noted that the group may split into smaller sub groups, if appropriate, as the work became more detailed.
In discussion, the importance of user involvement in the implementation process was emphasised and a service user reference group was suggested. The point was also made that some consideration should be given to ensuring that service users get a benefit from participating in the process in addition to the benefits received by the group they are feeding back to.
Action: Remit of the Group to be widened to include consideration of issues related to the Protection of Vulnerable Groups ( Scotland) Act and, where appropriate, associated legislation. In addition, the objectives of the Group to be expanded to include
- consideration of overlap with existing legislation;
- consideration of the wider context in which the ASP Act will be required to operate (including service availability); and
- to include a specific reference to aspects such as continuous improvement and quality assurance when considering monitoring mechanisms.
Action: Implementation team to extend membership of the Group by inviting Scottish Care to send a representative and inviting an individual with a background in employment law.
Action: Items agreed for discussion at next meeting were 'user involvement' and 'training and education materials and procedures'. Service provision (advocacy in particular) to be added as an agenda item at a future meeting.
3. Implementation planning and timescales
The group considered a short outline paper which listed the main implementation tasks together with associated timescales. The group discussed the possibility of hosting a conference on risk assessment and protection planning later in the year. It was noted that ELBEG are considering running a conference in the Borders in autumn 2008 on risk and adult protection, which the group might want to keep in mind when planning the event. The possibility of a combined event on adult protection with BASW next year was also suggested.
The group agreed that it was sensible for the code of practice to be issued at least 6 months before commencement of Part 1 of the ASP Act. Commencement of the adult protection measures in Part 1 is currently scheduled for autumn next year. This means that a final Code of Practice should be ready for issue by April 2008.
Action: Diane Strachan agreed to draw up a composite task list and timeline for the implementation of the ASP and PVG Acts. Jan Killeen offered to do this in respect of AWI tasks.
4. Communications strategy
Moira Scobbie, Senior Marketing Manager, Scottish Executive, gave a brief presentation on the main issues to consider when developing a communication strategy:
(1) Objectives
- What specifically do you want to achieve
- What do you want people to do as a result of reading your communication?
- Is this different for different for different audiences?
(2) Audience
- Who are you talking to? Who needs to know?
- Professional audience/members of the public?
- What about professional media? LGC, SWToday, Herald Society supplement?
(3) Messages
- What do you want to say? Need to know/Nice to know
- What are the messages for your different audiences?
- Keep brief and offer routes to other information
- Make sure all communication channels are agreed on the message being sent out
(4) Tools and Activities
- Use existing communication channels to reach your audience. How do you contact them just now? These are usually more effective than new channels
- Internal communications channels within organisations - e.g Council intranets, other organisations.
- Consider what additional channels might be useful, e.g e-mail newsletter
(5) Resources and timescales
- What resources do you have to do this work? Money? Who is responsible for the communications?
- Think about the timing of the introduction- what needs to go out by when? What is the approval process? Timescales are important- work back from the end date.
(6) Evaluation/ amendment
- How will you know your message is getting through?
- Is the call-to-action measurable? E.g link to webpage as a response mechanism
Moira discussed the possibility of using space negotiated by the Executive in some publications if this was thought to be appropriate. The Marketing Unit can provide advice and assistance going forward once the issues have been considered in more detail.
5. Communications strategy workshop - who, what, how?
In the discussion session which followed, the group were asked for their ideas on what would be useful to consider in developing a communication strategy for implementing the Act. A short paper on elements to consider was also circulated which contained three questions for members to discuss. The three questions were:
1. What sources of information would you find useful? What has worked well in the past ?
2. What is the attitude of your organisation to the new Act?
3. What do you think are the key messages that need to be communicated about the Act?
It was agreed that it was important to be able to produce materials in different formats which are accessible for e.g. people with learning disabilities, or from other cultures etc.
A template was circulated around the group which members were asked to complete and return before the next meeting. In completing the template, group members were asked to think about potential target audiences for the Act and what information they would need to know, existing communication channels that could be utilised and different types of communications, including ideas about how to make the information more accessible to different client groups. For example, some organisations, such as local authorities, will have statutory duties under the Act which will need to be clearly communicated to them whereas some audiences will only require general information about the Act. Completed templates will be able to form the basis of an outline communication strategy for the Act.
The group discussed different formats for communicating information about the Act and it was agreed that a 'short introduction to the Act' would be a very useful document to have at the outset and that this should be made available as soon as possible. A frequently asked questions paper would also be helpful to stakeholders. It was suggested that these documents could be made available on the SE website, together with links to other relevant information, allowing it to be easily accessible to a wide range of people. Ronnie Barnes offered ADSW journals for any advertisements/other announcements regarding the legislation.
Guidance materials for service users relating to the Vulnerable Witness Act was suggested as a potential model for the ASP and PVG Acts implementation materials. These were generally well-received by stakeholders - in particular the loose-leaf format of these guides was felt to be useful. A CD Rom may also be a potential format depending on the subject matter. The group agreed that a quarterly newsletter would be useful way of informing people too. Feedback from the implementation of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act suggested that those in senior management positions should be sent information about commercial risk etc.
Jan Killeen outlined the work which she is doing with the Office of the Public Guardian to revise AWI publications in preparation for the commencement of AWI changes. A stakeholder advisory group had been convened to recommend changes to presentation. With regard to information for service users, two versions of a DVD called 'Making Decisions - Your Rights' are already available for people with dementia and people with a learning disability (although useful to other groups as well).
Members were then asked to give their organisations views on the Act, post Royal Assent. Most organisations welcomed the Act, and while some still hold reservations it is hoped that these can be addressed through the implementation process. The main reservations expressed by members related to the availability of services, interaction/overlap with existing legislation, and, crucially, striking the balance between protecting the public and upholding individual autonomy. The latter point will be at the heart of the code of practice and all other communications, as achieving the correct balance is vital to the successful implementation of the Act.
As there was insufficient time to fully discuss question 3 during the meeting, group members agreed to think about the key messages which ought to be communicated and to feed these back to the Implementation team.
Action: Implementation team to e-mail an electronic version of the communications template to the group. Members requested to return completed templates before the next meeting.
Action: Group members consider key messages to be communicated about the Act and to e-mail these to the Implementation team in advance of the next meeting.
Action: Implementation team to issue short intro document on the ASP Act to the group for comment, in advance of the next meeting.
6. Update on research findings
Dave McLeod reported that the UK-wide Comic Relief research on prevalence of elder abuse had been completed and was scheduled for publication in the near future. A public launch was intended in London. It would be open to the Group to receive a presentation on the key findings at a future meeting.
He explained that the Executive had also commissioned 2 pieces of research to assist with implementation of the Act. The joint project by Age Concern Scotland & Dundee University was looking at how existing local adult protection procedures were operating in some local authority areas in Scotland, with a view to highlighting good practice lessons for practitioners in how best to audit their interventions. This was scheduled to report in the summer. A literature review of what is known about effective interventions in preventing and responding to harm against adults had also been commissioned and it too was nearing completion. Group members would be provided with details of each when available.
7. Any Other Business
Some members of the Group requested a copy of the general presentation on the Adult Support and Protection Act to help to inform others within their organisation about the measures contained within the Act.
Action: Implementation team to send an electronic copy of the presentation to group members.
The next meeting of the Implementation group will take place on Thursday 12 July at 10.30am at a venue in Edinburgh to be confirmed.