4. How will a protected adult be defined?
The policy intention is to ensure that those who are doing regulated care or welfare work with adults are not unsuitable.
Section 94 of the PVG Act defines a protected adult as an individual, aged 16 or over who receives one or more type of care or welfare service. This definition recognises that some adults may always require protection due to the nature or frequency of services they receive, while others may do so only for short periods. This is why section 94 must operate in tandem with schedule 3 of the Act which outlines the duties that constitute regulated work with adults.
The purpose of the term 'protected adult' is to avoid labelling adults solely on the basis of having a specific condition or disability. Defining adults in this way is intended to help employers identify the services that make an adult 'protected' and therefore, assess which posts constitute regulated work.
The Act requires health and welfare services to be further defined. Chapter two of the consultation on policy proposals for secondary legislation asks if an individual should be a protected adult if they are in receipt of any heath service and what the definition of welfare services should be based upon. It is important to emphasise that where an adult is protected because of the fact that they are receiving a service, that protection only lasts for the time that they are actually receiving that service.
The Scottish Government has published a detailed analysis of the consultation on policy proposals for secondary legislation required to deliver the PVG scheme. Ministers are now considering the detail of the analysis and expect to publish the full response after the Scottish Parliamentary summer recess.