Chamber and committees

Ultimately, Chief Officers across Scotland are responsible for the leadership, direction and scrutiny of their respective child protection services. However, Child Protection Committees (CPCs) work on behalf of the Chief Officers in their area and their responsibilities include putting in place robust mechanisms for the identification, consideration and management of significant case reviews (SCRs). This includes the need for processes to be in place to promote good practice, maximise learning, respond to conclusions and disseminate the lessons learned. The Scottish Government has published guidance for CPCs which makes clear their role in the SCR process.

HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) is currently undertaking its second round of inspections of services to protect children. Every local authority area in Scotland will be visited, and as part of the inspection process, HMIE look at all significant case reviews undertaken in the previous 12 months.

The findings of SCRs and how services have responded to the conclusions and recommendations should be reflected in local improvement plans and formally considered as part of annual child protection reviews by CPCs. CPCs have responsibility for the development and implementation of inter-agency self‘evaluation, quality assurance and continuous improvement mechanisms.

There is no requirement to register with a local authority. Both parents and proposed carers have a duty to notify private fostering arrangements to the local authority in which the child will be living at least two weeks before the child is placed. In an emergency, where this is not possible, the local authority should be notified of the placement within one week of the placement.

These duties and the information to be provided to the local authority are set out in The Foster Children (Scotland) Act 1984 and The Foster Children (Private Fostering) (Scotland) Regulations 1985.

A review of significant case review (SCRs) is currently underway. A working group of key multi-agency professionals was established in November 2009 to consider the SCR process in the light of recent research and practice, and in the context of the current review of the national child protection guidance. The key aims are to make recommendations to help improve consistency and practice, and to help child protection committees (CPCs) build confidence and capacity in undertaking SCRs.

The group''s report was presented to the Scottish Government in July 2010 and is now in the public domain. The recommendations for action are currently being considered jointly by the Scottish Government and CPCs, and a response will be published later this autumn.

The aim of the current guidance Interim Guidance For Child Protection Committees (CPCs) for Conducting Significant Case Reviews published in March 2007 is to provide more clarity and consistency on what should be done and how best to act on lessons learned from a significant case review (SCR) both locally and across Scotland.

The SCR Working Group outlined in the answer to question S3W-36024 on 23 September 2010 has looked specifically at the issue of consistency and quality assurance. The Scottish Government is considering how to take this work forward with CPCs and will set out its plans later this autumn.

A national conference will be held in November 2010 for professionals to explore the conduct and use of SCRs. The key aims are to promote best practice and consistency of approach across Scotland. It is being jointly organised by the government funded Multi-Agency Resource Centre (MARS) and the Scottish Child Care and Protection Network (SCCPN), and independently funded Centre for Learning in Child Protection (CLiCP).

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

The key considerations and responsibilities for clearing and publishing the report of the significant case review (SCR) are outlined in the interim guidance for child protection committees (CPCs) for conducting SCRs published in March 2007. This is available on the Scottish Government website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/03/30114400/0

Further clarification on publication and dissemination was issued by the Scottish Government in October 2007.

It is for Chief Officers to decide how to publish the SCR based on this guidance and individual circumstances. However, as set out in the guidance, the executive summary and recommendations from each SCR should be published and made publicly available to provide an overview and analysis of the case.

Chief Officers should select from a range of dissemination options available to them, including the option of publication aimed at the general public, that best serves the public interest and the purpose of improving service delivery.

The issues around publication and dissemination have been considered by the SCR working group, and are reflected in its report. The Scottish Government is considering how to take this work forward and will set out its plans later this autumn. Further detail can be found in the answer to question S3W-36024 on 23 September 2010.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

During the 2008-09 inspection period, the Care Commission found that there were 16 known private foster arrangements across Scotland. This number is likely to understate the true number of children in private fostering arrangements.

The Care Commission report Private Fostering “ the unknown arrangement? makes a number of recommendations which are intended to raise awareness of what private fostering covers and the duty on parents and carers to notify local authorities.  The Scottish Government and local authorities are now taking these recommendations forward.

When a local authority is notified of a private fostering arrangement there are a number of duties which must be undertaken (a) prior to the placement, to determine whether it is appropriate for the child''s needs and (b), afterwards, to supervise the child''s welfare. These duties are set out in full in the Foster Children (Scotland) Act 1984 and the Foster Children (Private Fostering) (Scotland) Regulations 1985.

Under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001, the Care Commission has a duty to inspect how the local authority meet their obligations and responsibilities with regard to private fostering in their area.

Parents do not require consent from a local authority to home educate their children. As explained in the previous response, consent is only required from a local authority if parents or carers wish to withdraw their child from a local authority school in the area in which they reside.

HM Inspectorate of Education has no specific role in monitoring the education of individual children whether home educated or otherwise.

The National Infertility Group has been asked to look at the issues raised in the interim report from Infertility Network Scotland. The group will deliver its first report to ministers by the end of 2010.