Adult Protection Committees
Section 42 – Adult Protection Committees
70.Subsection (1) states that each council must establish an Adult Protection Committee to carry out the functions listed in relation to the safeguarding of adults at risk present in the council’s area. It is possible to establish an Adult Protection Committee which covers more than one council area. The Committee, in carrying out its functions, should also be seeking to improve co-operation between each of the public bodies involved in order to better safeguard adults at risk. The public bodies involved are the relevant council, the Care Commission, the relevant Health Board, the chief constable of the police force in the council area, and any other public body as may be specified by Scottish Ministers.
Section 43 – Membership
71.The council must appoint a convener, who must be independent of the council, and other members of its Adult Protection Committee. The public bodies listed in section 42 above (other than the council and the Care Commission) must nominate a representative with the relevant knowledge and skills to be a Committee member. The Care Commission may choose to nominate a representative if it wishes to do so. The council must then appoint those nominated representatives as members of the Adult Protection Committee. The council may also appoint such other persons to be members of the Committee as appear to it to have skills and knowledge relevant to the Committee.
Section 44 – Committee procedure
72.Each Adult Protection Committee will be responsible for regulating its own procedures but these procedures must allow a representative from the Mental Welfare Commission, the Public Guardian, the Care Commission or any other public body or office-holder to be specified by Scottish Ministers, to attend Committee meetings if they so wish.
Section 45 – Duty to provide information to the Committee
73.The public bodies represented on the Adult Protection Committee together with the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland, the Public Guardian, the Care Commission, and any other public body or office-holder to be specified by Scottish Ministers, must provide the Committee with any information which it requires in carrying out its functions.
Section 46 – Biennial Report
74.The convener of an Adult Protection Committee must prepare a general report on the Committee’s work every two years. After obtaining the Committee’s approval of the report, a copy should be sent to each of the public bodies and office-holders represented on the Committee, the Scottish Ministers, the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland, the Public Guardian, the Care Commission, and any other public body or office-holder to be specified in regulations by Scottish Ministers.
Section 47 – Guidance
75.This section states that Adult Protection Committees must take into account any guidance issued by Scottish Ministers in relation to their functions.
