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© 2012 Angus Child Protection Committee

Child Protection in Angus

National Guidance - The Legal Context

The legal context for CPCs is to be found within the legislation set out below.

Children (Scotland) Act 1995

The most relevant sections of this Act for CPCs are sections 19 to 21.

Section 19 deals with the duty of a local authority to prepare, publish and keep under review plans in relation to services for children, and lists who should be consulted in the preparation of such plans. It sets out a wide range of bodies and persons to be consulted in the preparation of such plans.

Section 20 deals with the duties of a local authority to publish information about services for children, provided by them for children in their area or which are provided for these children by other local authorities. They may also, where they consider it appropriate, publish information about services provided by voluntary organisations and by others.

Section 21 permits the local authority to request help, in the exercise of their functions in children's services, from a range of persons specified, including any person authorised by Scottish Ministers. It also imposes an obligation on the person requested to provide help, unless where doing so would not be compatible with that person's own statutory or other duties.

Local Government in Scotland Act 2003

The most relevant aspects of this act for CPCs are parts 2 and 3.

Part 2 deals with the context for Community Planning, which has two main aims:

• making sure people and communities are genuinely engaged in the decisions made on public services which affect them; allied to
• a commitment from organisations to work together, not apart, in providing better public services.

Part 2 places a duty on a local authority to initiate and maintain a process of community planning, to invite and encourage a range of agencies to participate. It also places a duty on a range of agencies, including Health Boards and Police Boards, to co-operate with the process.

Part 3 of the Act deals with the power to advance well-being. This sits alongside community planning and allows a local authority to do anything to promote or improve the well-being of persons, either generally, or a particular group within the authority's area.

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