Policy responses and statements

Name of organisation:

Scottish Executive Education Department: Children, Young People and Social Care Group

Name of policy document:

Review of the Code of Practice for the Joint Inspection of Child Protection Services

Deadline for response:

29 September 2006

Background: The Scottish Executive wrote to the College on 27 January 2006 seeking views on the draft Code of Practice for the Joint Inspection of Child Protection Services. The finalised Code was published in April 2005 in time for the commencement of the Joint Inspection of Child Protection services.

During Parliamentary debates on the Act, Ministers responded to the concerns of Parliament that further consideration of the Code of Practice for the joint inspection of child protection services should be given before the joint inspection of wider children's services began. Ministers agreed to conduct a review of the Code following the first phase of joint inspections of child protection services and before the pilot joint inspections of children's services begin in 2007.

The Executive wrote to inform the College that the external reference group for the development of Joint Inspection of Children's services has agreed a methodology and timetabled process for the review (Annex A). A copy of the questionnaire for use with relevant staff and children and their families involved in the first tranche of joint inspections of child protection services is also enclosed.

The College was asked to note from the timetable that, at stage two of the review, the Executive will circulate the key findings and invite our comments. In the meantime, the Executive invited the College to send any comments on the development of the Code of Practice for the wider joint inspection of children's services. It is Ministers' intention that joint inspections of children's services will proceed by seeking the consent of individuals to the access of their personal records by the joint inspection team. This review will help to inform how the Code of Practice should be developed to reflect this difference.

COMMENTS ON
SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT: CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND SOCIAL CARE GROUP REVIEW OF THE CODE OF PRACTICE FOR THE JOINT INSPECTION OF CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES

The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh is pleased to respond to the Scottish Executive on the Review of the Code of Practice for the Joint Inspection of Child Protection Services.

The primary purpose of the review is to learn from the experience of the first four joint inspections for child protection.  As the College does not have any specific comments from members on this, we are unable to make any specific points.

However, in the letter from Jackie Brock there is an invitation for more general comments.  The points which the College would like to make here are as follows:

1. It is to be welcomed that the planned inspection of wider children services is to proceed on the basis of explicit rather than implied consent.

2. There has apparently been little progress regarding generic NHS confidentiality leaflets being amended to include the possibility of access to health records of persons under the age of 18 for the purposes of child protection inspections.

Copies of this response are available from:

Lesley Lockhart,
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh,
9 Queen Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 1JQ.

Tel: 0131 225 7324    ext 608
Fax: 0131 220 3939

[29 September 2006]