Classification: NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

Dear Madam

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 – Request for Information

Thank you for your information request dated 24 March 2023 and received on 24 March 2023. Our reference is FOI 2023-0378. This is being dealt with under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

We are considering your request. We may be in touch soon to ask for further clarification or to offer advice and assistance if we are not able to fulfil your request in its present form.

The legislation allows us up to 20 working days from the date that we receive a valid request, including any clarification we need to make a final response. We will be in touch within 20 working days of receipt of your initial request to provide our response or to seek clarification where necessary. We hope to give you the information you are looking for at an earlier date if possible.

Kind Regards

Ann Muir
Administrative Assistant
Strategy, Performance & Business Solutions
Orkney Islands Council, Council Offices, School Place, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NY
Tel: 01856 873535 ext 2248

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Classification: NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

Dear Madam

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 – Request for Information

I refer to your email dated 24 March 2023 and received on 24 March 2023, our reference is FOI 2023-0378.

I am pleased to give the information you requested and hope that it meets your requirements.

1. Should an incident occur out with normal working hours and the your Social Care Emergency Team have to deal with what is termed a ‘single agency (Police) investigation’ which means there is no requirement for a VRI.
This is a statement rather than a request for information so we are unable provide an answer.

2. Can you advise what a VRI is for the record?
This information has already been recently provided to [name removed] in their previous FOI request (FOI 2023-312) – please refer to page 27 of ‘Orkney Health and Care Social Work Child Protection Procedures’.

3. Under what statutory Powers and legislation can your Councils Social Care Emergency Team impose Police Scotland who have attempted to release an individual on standard bail conditions compel Police Scotland to require the individual to agree to an undertaking heavier on that individual for example to add on special conditions for a parent with a full custody order for their child(ren) conditions not to approach or contact said children until they are due to appear in court to make their plea?
Decisions about bail conditions are not made by Social Work.

4. I understand that parental rights and responsibilities PRR can only be removed by a court order per the Children Scotland Act 1995., however for example on say evidence recorded that the individual appeared to be behaving erratic on a specific day and that there was merely ‘concerns’ not substantiated or Police Scotland the single agency investigation found finding relevant evidence of mental issues or a claim of undiagnosed anxiety, and additionally Police Scotland had not identified any mental crisis that could warrant a compulsory mental health assessment, and found it justifiable to attempt to release this individual on standard bail conditions, would that individual signing a special undertaking with separated them from their children without a court order, then by tacit or implied consent give Social work any form of authority over the children, without proper adjudication from the court?
This does not appear to be a valid request for information. As the requester has said, parental rights and responsibilities can only be removed by a court order. We cannot comment on a hypothetical situation or the interpretation of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.

5. Would this give Social Work authority to make decisions over the custody arrangements therefore taking custody from the parent and close a case before even the bail conditions or undertaking of bail has expired? Is this lawful without a Sheriff or judge to adjudicate?
We cannot comment on a hypothetical situation. This is not a request for information held by the Council.

6. Does a risk assessment have to be done? And if it’s a single agency Police investigation is it not the Police that undertake that?
This is not a request for information held by the Council. We cannot comment on whether the Police would be undertaking a risk assessment. This question should be referred to Police Scotland who can be contacted at [email address].

7. In what circumstances can social work intervene in a single agency police investigation and compel such an undertaking to be made to the individual who may not know that signing such an undertaking could mean something different to what they have been advise (if they have not secured a duty lawyer).
We cannot comment on a hypothetical situation. This is not a request for information held by the Council.

8. Where would that leave Social Work if the individual was acquitted of any wrongdoing and does not pose a risk if any kind?
We cannot comment on a hypothetical situation. This is not a request for information held by the Council.

9. Can you supply me with the statutory powers that would allow Social Work to intervene in a single agency (Police) investigation, and compel the Police to comply with your request if significant risk of harm has not been established when the words ‘appears’ to have had or the individual ‘might’ have undiagnosed anxiety? What is the benchmark for significant risk?
We cannot comment on a hypothetical situation. This is not a request for information held by the Council.

10. Essentially Please supply your JIT policies and procedures with all revisions from April 2017 to date?
Orkney Health and Care Social Work officers use the Scottish Government’s Guidance on Joint Investigative Interviewing of Child Witnesses in Scotland, availably publicly online at
PART 1: INTRODUCTION - Guidance on Joint Investigative Interviewing of Child Witnesses in Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . They have used Government guidance throughout the period requested. For any previous versions, the requester will need to ask the Scottish Government as we are not the owners of the document.

Please note you were recently provided with the Orkney Health and Care Social Work Child Protection Procedures document as part of FOI 2023-0313. There is a section within this document which discusses joint interviews, but is taken from the Government guidance as per above.

Under FOISA, if you are dissatisfied with our response, you may ask the Council to review its handling of your request. If you wish to do this, you should make your request for review within 40 working days of receiving this email. Please make your request for review to Service Manager (Governance), Council Offices, School Place, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NY or email to [Orkney Islands Council request email]. Your request must be in permanent form (letter, email, audio tape etc) and should state:

That you are asking for a review of this decision, and
Why you are unhappy with the response you have received.

We will issue a full response to your request for review within 20 working days of our receiving it.

Where the outcome of the review fails to resolve the matter to your complete satisfaction, you then have the right to apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a decision. You have six months in which to do so following receipt of our review outcome – see www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal.

Regards

Paul Kesterton
Information Governance Officer
Strategy, Performance & Business Solutions
Orkney Islands Council, Council Offices, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1NY
Telephone: 01856 873535 Extension: 2241
www.orkney.gov.uk

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