Establishing a statutory Appropriate Adult service in Scotland

Date: 24th April 2018
Category: Child justice system, Disabled children

The Scottish Government is seeking views on plans to place Appropriate Adult services, which aims to provide support to vulnerable people who come into contact with the justice system, on a statutory footing.

Although the role of the Appropriate Adult does not include support for children under the age of 16 years, children aged 16 and 17 will be affected by these changes. Currently, the Appropriate Adult services in Scotland are delivered on a non-statutory basis and, as a consequence, the way in which these services are delivered can vary. The aim of this legislation is to ensure services are delivered in a consistent way across all areas of Scotland.

• Read more and respond to this consultation here.