Adult Support and Protection

Data in the news and a trip down memory lane….

It’s January 2026, and I’m taking a bit of time for reflection at the start of the year to talk about ASP data and why the big statistics matter. This relates to the journey I and others have been involved in, in co-designing a National Minimum Dataset (NMDS) for ASP. I want to share reflections on why I think this data matters, why we built the NMDS, how it’s being used to support improvement and planning and can be used for optimal effect.

It’s unbelievable how much the ASPire Hub has grown in its 15 months of life. Now, just like a toddler, it’s got more confidence, and wants to show off a bit. As its curator/caretaker, I’d like to introduce you to a new feature – searching by type of resource. This doesn’t replace the usual way of searching, but it does allow you to finesse your search, and browse in a different way.

Iriss is embarking on a new project to find out all about professional curiosity across the public protection agenda - and we’re looking for interested folk to help us out. We’re holding three sessions for anyone who wants to chat through the issues around professional curiosity in their work today. Please do register your interest below if you want to talk about the positives or challenges (or a bit of both) on this topic. (UPDATE: all sessions are now full. Thanks everyone for your interest, more details will be sent out w/c 11 August).

What are we doing about Professional Curiosity in the Scottish Borders?

Improving chronologies is a national challenge and features on most Joint Inspection reports across Scotland in relation to both adults and children’s services. This is as much a challenge in the Scottish Borders as it is across the rest of the country. Here in the Borders, we want to change this. Alongside a desire to improve our chronologies, making them more analytical, we are also thinking about how we can develop a culture of professional curiosity across partner agencies.

Seven minutes might not feel like much, but it’s long enough to learn something new. That’s the thinking behind seven-minute briefings, several of which now sit on the ASPire Hub. These briefings provide an accessible way into a topic and are – to boot – lovely and colourful!

I have now been in post for a little over two years as the National Adult Support and Protection Coordinator – which I find very hard to believe, it has completely flown by!

The National ASP Learning & Development Framework - get involved!

We published the quality improvement framework (QIF) on 15 October 2024. The primary purpose of the QIF is to support Adult Support and Protection partnerships to carry out multi-agency self-evaluations of their adult support and protection arrangements. We can also use the QIF to underpin future joint inspections of Adult Support and Protection.

The revised Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007: Code of Practice (the ‘Code’) was published on 28 July 2022. Organisations and local partnerships then began the work of considering how to adapt and - if required - change their local guidance, procedures and practice to align with the revised Code. The next step was to implement those adaptations and changes.