Governance in adult safeguarding in Scotland since the implementation of the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to report the findings from research into the governance of adult protection in Scotland, with particular focus on the outcomes of provision for multi-agency leadership and management of adult safeguarding in the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007. Comparisons will be drawn between these findings and the evidence on the governance of adult safeguarding in England.
Design/methodology/approach
The study comprised a thematic analysis of Adult Protection Committee (APC) biennial reports on implementation of the 2007 Act to the Scottish Government, associated documentation, and key informant interviews with professionals involved in adult protection leadership and practice.
Findings
A rich and complex pattern of arrangements, activities, experiences and challenges were identified across a number of dimensions, including management structures of APCs, development of policies and procedures, multi-agency working, training, performance assessment and quality management, engagement of service users and carers and operation of the 2007 Act.
Research limitations/implications
Service users and carers were not directly involved in the documentary review or key informant interviews. There remains a need to investigate the impacts on practice and service user experience of different forms of governance of adult protection arrangements.
Practical implications
The paper identifies outcomes and challenges in respect of multi-agency approaches to governance taken by APCs in Scotland.
Originality/value
The paper offers the first formal evaluation of governance of adult protection systems in Scotland and includes comparative analysis with research findings on the governance of adult safeguarding in England.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The research was funded by the Scottish Government and commissioned from EKOSGEN and the University of Bedfordshire. Staff at EKOSGEN (Economic Development and Regeneration Consultants) based in Glasgow were centrally involved in the preparation of the tender, and subsequently in data collection, data analysis and report writing alongside the authors of this article. The views expressed in this paper are the authors’ own and do not necessarily represent or imply Scottish Government policy.
Citation
Cornish, S. and Preston-Shoot, M. (2013), "Governance in adult safeguarding in Scotland since the implementation of the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007", The Journal of Adult Protection, Vol. 15 No. 5, pp. 223-236. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAP-02-2013-0003
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited