Adult Support and Protection services in Scotland will always to be looking to improve, ensuring that adults at risk of harm receive services that suit their needs. The resources in this category will help leaders and managers to improve their ASP services, whether through policy or practice initiatives, or by supporting a learning culture more widely.
The National Adult Support and Protection Co-ordinator (NASPC) for Scotland is committed to making ASP work better for people and practitioners. This website is regularly updated with ASP news, useful resources, and blogs on all aspects of ASP in Scotland. There is also a link to sign up to the NASPC newsletter.
These are principles for information sharing regarding adults at risk of harm, in circumstances where they move from one area to another. Their aim is to ensure an adult at risk will be provided with the same level of support and protection in their new setting. The principles are can be used either with, or without, prior notice of the move. They can also be used when a person has already moved. These principles aim to support permanent changes of residence, though they may also be useful for temporary changes in residence.
Details, including terms of reference and minutes of past meetings, of the trauma responsive social work services partnership delivery group. The aim of the group is to implement the national trauma training programme for social work services. The group provides advice, informs, shares and progresses actions in its workplan. This will help to ensure Scotland’s social work services are trauma-informed, and improve outcomes for people affected by trauma.
Joint inspection reports provide independent scrutiny and assurance of how partnerships ensure that adults at risk of harm are kept safe, protected, and supported. This is an interim report (from 2022) and can be read in conjunction with the full report (from 2023).
Joint inspection reports provide independent scrutiny and assurance of how partnerships ensure that adults at risk of harm are kept safe, protected, and supported. This overview report summarises the inspection findings of 25 Adult Support and Protection partnerships. It shares 'success factors' - good practice that means many adults at risk of harm are safer and have enhanced wellbeing.
The joint inspections programme is led by the Care Inspectorate. It provides independent scrutiny and assurance of how partnerships ensure that adults at risk of harm are kept safe, protected, and supported. Good practice is also identified, supporting improvement more generally across Scotland. All the joint inspections of partnerships are published on the Care Inspectorate's website, accessed via the link.
Most recent joint inspections:
Renfrewshire (Mar 2025)
This report aims to raise awareness of Adult Support and Protection and its contribution to keeping ‘adults at risk’ safe. This report introduces readers to key Adult Support and Protection definitions, duties, processes and stakeholders. It covers what we know about adults at risk of harm, with trends in types of harm alongside possible contributing factors. The report invites reflection on complex issues around safety in a changing environment.
This leaflet is designed for council officers. It can be shared with adults who may be at risk (and their carers, supporters and families). Clear information about the Adult Support and Protection process is covered, including inquiry, advocacy, and case conferences. There are four formats, with identical text, all of which can be amended to include partnership branding and contact details.
This presentation was delivered in April 2024 to a joint child protection / Adult Support and Protection meeting. Key points are shared on how Dundee has worked towards a closer relationship between child protection and ASP services. This includes establishing a co-located multi-disciplinary team, and increasing opportunities for joint meetings and training. The presentation also looks at how such innovations can be sustained and promoted.
Dundee City Council’s Protecting People team have ideveloped a robust trauma-informed approach when working with people with lived experience. This report describes how adults with lived experience influence and contribute to local decision-making, including in Adult Support and Protection. The report stresses a sense of opportunity when working with people who have experienced trauma, and taking a strengths-based approach. This shifts the focus from risks and limitations, and creates opportunities to hear positive stories instead.
