Legislation places a variety of duties and responsibilities on services and organisations. These include duties to investigate and respond to concerns about a child’s safety and wellbeing. Legislation defines the responsibilities of local authorities to develop community planning processes with partner agencies.

Part 1 of the National Guidance for Child Protection (2021) reviews overarching legislation covering the duties placed on services, and outlines a selection of key overarching legislation. For an outline of other legislation current or impending, see Appendix C of the National Guidance for Child Protection (2021).

Practitioners should be aware of their own legal responsibilities and duties, and understand the legal framework within which they and other organisations and agencies operate.

Duties to protect

The legal duty to investigate and report issues in relation to child protection is derived from two sources: the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012, which provides the mandate for police officers, and the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011, sections 60-64, which set out the duties and powers of local authorities, constables, courts and other persons to refer all children who may be in need of a Compulsory Supervision Order to the Scottish Children’s Reporters Administration. Section 66 of the 2011 Act requires the Principal Reporter to consider whether such Compulsory Supervision Orders are necessary – in which case the Reporter must refer the case to the children’s hearing under section 69.