Orkney Public Protection Committee

Adult Support and Protection Biennial Report 2024-2026

Images courtesy of: www.orkney.com, www.orkney.gov.uk

IMAGE: A rural Orkney landscape with fields, buildings and a body of water. The cover text reads “Orkney Public Protection Committee”, “Adult Support and Protection”, and “Biennial Report 2024-2026”. The Orkney Islands Council and Orkney Public Protection Committee logos are shown, alongside the text “Images courtesy of: www.orkney.com” and “www.orkney.gov.uk”.

Contents

• Introduction — 2
• Background — 3
• Adult Support and Protection Inspection and Audit — 4
• Overview of Progress from the 2025 Progression Review — 5
• Adult Support and Protection Audits — 6
• Key Priorities for 2026-2028 — 7
• Data and Analysis — 8
• Outcomes, Achievements and Service Improvements — 17
• Training, Learning and Development — 21
• Engagement, Involvement and Communication — 22
• Challenges and Areas for Improvement — 23
• Looking Forward — 25

Introduction

Partnership work remains a cornerstone for the delivery of Adult Support and Protection. The oversight provided by the Orkney Public Protection Committees continues to provide the platform for partner services and agencies to contribute to the improvements in the delivery of protection services, with the active involvement of Health, Police and voluntary sector colleagues working with Orkney Islands Council and Social Work and care staff. Everyone has a part to play in maintaining safety for adults in Orkney. This partnership work is evident in the ASP Joint Inspection Progress Review of 2025. Services and agencies have seen a shift to more co-design and delivery than ever before, capturing the voice of lived experience in innovative ways shared between our services and partner agencies.

I am therefore pleased to introduce the Orkney Adult Protection Biennial Report 2024-26 and my thanks to colleagues in the Partnership for their support. The Adult Protection services provided by Orkney were subject to the previously mentioned ASP Joint Inspection Progress Review during the period of this review. We were delighted to see that all areas for improvement showed significant improvement, a real testament to the hard work and efforts of our colleagues. This said, we acknowledge improvement is a continuous process, and we continue to progress in our efforts to improve our services for the benefit of all those we support. Staff remain engaged and are passionate about our development. Their engagement and efforts continue to improve how we deliver services and for this I offer my sincere thanks.

Since the last Biennial Report there has been a change to the Orkney Public Protection Committee Independent Chair role, as I took on the role in 2025, from my predecessor Alex Davidson. The Public Protection Lead Officer and Public Protection Learning and Development Officer roles have continued to support strategic developments and provided additional capacity and support to our collective services. The Service Manager for Adult and Learning Disability Social Work has continued to enable a wide range of developments across our services which are demonstrated throughout this report. My thanks are due to them, to colleagues in our partner services and agencies and to our committee members.

Ross Drummond, Independent Chair of the Orkney Adult Protection Committee – August 2026

Background

The Adult Support and Protection Act (Scotland) 2007 aims to protect adults who are unable to safeguard their own interests and are at risk of harm because they are affected by disability, mental disorder, illness or physical or mental infirmity. The Act places duties on councils and other organisations to investigate and, where necessary, to act to reduce the harm or risk of harm. Section 46 of the Act requires the Convenors of Adult Protection Committees to produce a biennial report analysing, reviewing, and commenting on APC functions and activities in the preceding two years, and this report reflects activities and actions in Orkney, led by the Public Protection Committee, with oversight by our Chief Officers’ Group (COG).

Activity in Orkney has been driven by a period of improvement, building upon service reflections discussed in the previous report. The ASP Inspection Progress Review provided both assurance that services were on the right track and supported us in confirming areas of particular focus to build upon the work of previous years. This has seen a variety of new papers brought to the Committee which support consideration of lived experience and the impact our services are having to the lives of those we support.

The current Adult Social Work service staffing has been outlined on the following page.

The work of the combined Orkney Public Protection Committee (Child and Adult Protection) is overseen by the Chief Officers’ Group (COG) who continue to provide leadership, scrutiny, support and guidance to public protection in Orkney.

These two multi-agency fora, include representation from the Local Authority, NHS Orkney, Police Scotland, the Care Inspectorate, and Third Sector organisations, and provides leadership and direction to the public protection agenda.

Please note, Orkney is Scotland’s Smallest Local Authority. Within this report, numbers have been deliberately supressed to protect the identities and confidentiality of those whom we support. This means, some tables will be shown without axes, and some date is recorded as <5 to ensure we protect identities and confidentiality to the best of our abilities.

Adult Support and Protection Inspection and Audit

Between 31st October 2022 and 11th April 2023 Adult Support and Protection Services underwent a Joint Inspection process with the Care Inspectorate, Health Improvement Scotland and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary. Published on the 11th of April 2023, the Inspection saw analysis of supporting documentation and evidence, and a survey to 172 staff across the partnership. The Inspection Report showed many areas of strength but highlighted several areas of required improvement which formed the basis of improvement planning and activity from 2023 until the Inspection Progress Review from October 2024 to the publication of the Report in January 2025.

The findings of the Joint Inspectorates Progress Review was testament to the work of services and agencies between inspection periods. Orkney saw significant improvement gradings for all areas [shown on page 6] with specific highlights in relation to Inter-agency working, communication and involvement of lived experience, supporting the voice of our service users. The Care Inspectorate referred to the excellent progress made, highlighting a real shift with Adult Support and Protection clearly prioritised across our partnership.

IMAGE: Two covers for the Joint Inspection of Adult Support and Protection documents are shown. The documents are published by the Care Inspectorate, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and HMICS. One is titled “Joint Inspection of Adult Support and Protection: Orkney Islands April 2023”; the other is titled “Joint Inspection of Adult Support and Protection: Review of Progress in the Orkney Islands Partnership Area”, published January 2025.

With thanks to the efforts of our staff and partners we note the excellent work today. Notably, staff have not lost sight of further improvements required. There remain areas of expected progress for future visits which include:

• Full alignment with ASP Code of Practice – this means fuller alignment with changed terminology within interagency guidance and processes.
• Greater consistency in meetings attendance including colleagues such as police and health.
• Further strengthening of chronology practice was required, this included a need for more robust recording and inclusion of broader life contexts.
• Enhancement of available health staff to support as second worker during investigations was also noted as a desired improvement.

Overview of Progress from the 2025 Progression Review

Adult Support and Protection Audits

Internal audits have become an integral part of scrutiny and measurement of improvement / development in recent years.

Audit has built upon a practice of regular reporting provided at set periods to the Adult Protection Committee; supporting quality assurance, quality discussions and identification for areas of practice improvements.

The approach to Audit has been split into 3 distinct stands of work and are used to triangulate the information and gain a better understanding of service needs for professionals, those supported and carers, power of attorney and guardians.

Key Priorities for 2026-2028

With a new Independent Chair (Convenor) appointed, one of the key priorities is a full review of the current Public Protection Arrangements in Orkney. This review will determine any required changes to the structure or recommendations of change required to the working of the OPPC. It is expected that a review of the Terms of Reference, attendance and any restructure will strengthen the partnerships alignment to both National Guidance and Direction, creating fuller alignment to the national Public Protection diagram as shown.

IMAGE: A public protection diagram places the Chief Officers Group at the centre, surrounded by Child Protection, Adult Support and Protection, Multi-agency Public Protection Arrangements, Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships, Violence Against Women and Girls, and Suicide Prevention.

Other Key Priorities include:

Increasing Understanding, Awareness and Support through Communication

Communication will become more regular and present in our communities. We recognise that communicating in meaningful ways with those we support and those who provide support will aid our services and agencies to enhance understanding and better meet the needs of our vulnerable adults.

This will see improvements to web spaces and resources made available to professionals, those we support and their carers/families. Planned changes include easy read documents and use of videos or animation to provide inclusive supports communicating in more meaningful ways.

IMAGE: An illustrated information panel reads: “The Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007. Legislation designed to protect vulnerable adults from harm and abuse.”

Continued Improvement following Progress Review

The Joint Inspection Progress Review (January 2025) as described above showed us we were on the right track to making lasting and meaningful improvements. The Partnership has taken time to review the findings of our colleagues and as a priority will review the Adult Support and Protection Improvement Plan 2026-2028.

One area of greater alignment is in the form of close connectivity to A Quality Improvement Framework for Adult Support and Protection (Care Inspectorate, October 2024). A direct ask from the Progress Review, alignment to this Quality Improvement Framework will support our partnership to focus improvements, understanding impact and providing clarity on desired outcomes linked to metrics which support quality improvement and change in our communities.

IMAGE: The cover of “A quality improvement framework for adult support and protection”, published by the Care Inspectorate, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and HMICS in October 2024.

Data and Analysis

Data recording has become increasingly robust, as seen in auditing activities. This has increased data reporting abilities and supported understanding of client demographics and areas of focus in relation to the forms of harm seen in our community. This year a decade of data has been available to our committees; some of which is within this report showing the impact of awareness raising activities and support provided to our community. Awareness of Adult Support and Protection is high, and support is consistent with strong partnership working. Each year has seen growth in the volume of referrals, a pattern continued in this report.

ASP Today compared to Previous years

IMAGE: A pictogram compares ASP referrals across the years 2019/20 to 2025/26. The values are 10, 10, 34, 44, 65, 98 and 131 respectively, showing a substantial increase over the period.

Due to the small population of Orkney, the reporting of small numbers make it possible to identify individuals. To reduce this risk, potentially identifiable figures have been removed from the reporting of data analysis, replaced with a value of “<5” throughout this report.

ASP referrals have increased considerably since 2019 but with marked increase from 2020/21 following review of practice. The Adult Social Work Team continues to be proactive through the use of “ASP Bitesized” Training. ASP awareness raising is supported through social media channels and proactive working within the partnership; this has resulted in increased awareness of ASP and more partners referring than in previous years.

These sustained efforts alongside a distinct focus upon Adult Support and Protection (following inspection) see activity in the area increasing significantly. Even between biennial reporting, it is shown Adult Support and Protection Activity has doubled to a high of 131 in 2025/26.-

Adult Support and Protection Activity

IMAGE: A chart titled “Adult Support and Protection Activity” shows ASP activity rising from 10 in 2019/20 to 131 in 2025/26. Year-on-year increases are 0%, 240%, 29%, 48%, 51% and 34% from 2020/21 to 2025/26. Base-year increases are 0%, 240%, 340%, 550%, 880% and 1210%.

Excluding years 2021/22 as a year of exponential growth severices continue to see an average increase in activity demands of 40% year on year.

The number of referrals received by the service are now 13 times greater than in 2019/20.

Over the recorded period, 10 adults per year presented a realative baseline for activity.

Police Scotland VPD Referrals Year on Year % Change

IMAGE: A chart titled “Police Scotland VPD Referrals Year on Year % Change” shows VPD referrals of 122, 175, 174, 213, 235, 229 and 306 from 2019/20 to 2025/26. The year-on-year changes are 122%, 43%, -1%, 22%, 10%, -3% and 34%.

Vulnerable Person Database (VPD) continue to robustly report and escalate risks to Social Work services from. Services have experienced an average yearly increase 18% on the numbers of VPD’s received when excluding 2019/20 where the largest increase was noted in recent years.

Every VPD is discussed in a tripartite meeting, held every week. Notably, there can be instances where full partnership attendance is challenging, however services are working together to seek solutions to remove barriers and ensure consistent attendance at this meeting. Within this multiagency forum, the 3 point criteria is considered for every VPD which has been received. This ensures quality of assessment for the VPD’s received and allows conversations regarding risk to occur collectiviley. Such an increase in VPD’s in recent years has applied significant additional time pressures upon our Partnership Services.

Notably, VPD’s are sent from Police in Orkney to the Highlands and Islands Police Concern Hub in Inverness. These concerns are then processed and sent to Adult Social Work services in Orkney. The delay, can see an ASP referral received from another source regarding the same concern before the VPD returns to services in Orkney, this has meant Police ASP referrals have remained at 0 since 2023/24.

VPD’s are a form of Police Reporting to Social Work services.

Primary Source Referral

In recent years, Adult Social Work have supported services through “Bite-sized” training sessions. These short sessions have aimed to support staff in a variety of community settings to better understand Adult Support and Proteciton in Scotland and what supports are available locally for people within our community. In depth in person training was delivered by the Adult Social Work Service Manager and Team Manager to all community care and social care settings and Age Scotland Orkney over the last 2 years. These sessions lasted 3 hours which provided additional context and understanding regarding Adult Support and Protection.

Referral sources continue to grow with a wider array of services and agencies sharing referrals on a more regular basis. The most significant increase in referal sources remain: Care Homes, Care at Home and Third Sector Services.

Much of the increases have been accredited to the ASP Bite-sized sessions, in addition Adults Social Work continue to engage with the local workforce, community and media around national awareness raising events. NHS 24 has also seen a notable increase, however the rationale for the increase in referrals from NHS 24 is currently unknown.

Generally, there exists a perception that Adult Support and Protection primarily supports the elderly and those of retirement age. Considering the data we have available, we continued to track the ages of those we support into recent years, as with previous reporting we can advise the distribution of age is closer than the perception.

The ages of those who we support has typically been of equal proportions, even with a significant increase in the number of referrals received those ages remain close with both experiencing a sharp increase since the previous report. Over 2024/25 and 2025/26 referrals were received for 77 people younger than 65 and 151 for those aged 65 and over, the biggest differential in age occurring in 2024/25 accounting for the difference before the gap closed again in 2025/26.

IMAGE: A bar chart compares referrals for people under 65 and over 65 from 2019/20 to 2025/26. The chart shows both groups increasing, with the over-65 group notably higher in 2024/25 and 2025/26. The stated totals for 2024/25 and 2025/26 are 77 people younger than 65 and 151 people aged 65 and over.

Age and Gender

IMAGE: A pie chart titled “% of Referrals - Under & Over age 65” shows 34% of referrals for people under 65 and 66% for people over 65.

IMAGE: A chart titled “National Minum data Set Age Categories 2024-2026” presents age categories 16-17, 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80-84 and 85+. The highest category shown is 85+, followed by 80-84; the chart also shows referrals across all listed age categories.

Of the referrals received 66% were for people aged over the age of 65 compared to 34% being under 65 and of working age. Recent years have indicated a significant increase in the needs of our elderly persons compared to previous years although those under 65 continued to see an increase in demand. This shows that overall, needs are increasing for all adults in our community regardless of their age.

We also considered gender as part of the analysis. In the previous report it was highlighted that women were at greater risk of needing support. Although this remains the case, there has been in an increase in the percentage of men who required support. Notably, both men and women have seen an increase of need when considering actual numbers of referrals which have increased in recent years.

Gender % (2024-2026)

IMAGE: A gender graphic shows 44% male and 56% female referrals for 2024-2026.

Primary Client Group

To date the greatest increases, remain in Dementia, Learning Disability and Infirmity. Notably, Mental Health (excluding Dementia) has also increased significantly, almost doubling since the previous report. Use of “other” to record continues to gradually reduce, records of others account for less than 1% of data which has significantly improved our understanding of presenting client groups.

Analysis was conducted to discover any notable differences in client groups for both age and gender.

Some identified areas included:

• Learning Difficulties and in instances where Mental Health (Excluding Dementia) increased significantly.
• Dementia & Age-related frailty were both significantly higher in women over the age of 65 when compared to men.
• There was also a recognisable increase in Physical Disability concerns.
  • Male clients also outnumbered female clients with a learning disability with a rate of approximately 4:1.

Although identified as changes, given the small sample size this cannot be determined as significant unless sustained in future years.

Principle Harm Type

Analysis upon principal harm was unable to draw any conclusive trends when considering age and gender. Figures show significant increase in Physical Harm, Neglect and Acts of Omission and notably Self-Harm has increased in recent years; although this followed a slight reduction from instances in 2021/22. The periods of increase occurred at times where localised promotion and awareness activity was undertaken; this indicates success in communication and engagement strategies in recent years.

We recognise that there has been a sustained prevalence of Financial Harm over the period, additionally, risk of Sexual Harm has increased. We believe; increased awareness of the forms of Harm in Adult Support and Protection has influenced a wider array of harm types being identified.

Location of Harm

Location of harm is a recording of where harm occurs. The two most common areas harm is recorded as occurring were in Own Home and within Care Homes accounting for 83% (82.5%) of all locations of harm recorded.

IMAGE: A graphic titled “Location of Harm” shows 48.50% of recorded harm occurring in the person’s own home and 34.10% in a care home.

Previously 64.84% of harm had occurred in the Homes of vulnerable adults and 18% in Care Homes. Now 48.5% and 34.1%. We recognise the change in recent years which can be understood as heavily impacted by 2 Large Scale Investigations discussed later within this report.

IMAGE: A bar chart titled “Areas of Significant Growth” compares harm in Own Home and Care Home settings from 2020/21 to 2025/26. Own Home rises from 5 in 2020/21 to 82 in 2025/26; Care Home rises from 0 in 2020/21 to 47 in 2024/25 and 31 in 2025/26.

Outcomes, Achievements and Service Improvements

Partnership Working

Services continue to intuitively learn and development. As data has shown, understanding and prominence of Adult Support and Protection in our community has grown significantly, this has led to increased reporting of concerns for vulnerable adults which are overseen by our Adult Social Work and Partnership Services.

Increased reporting increases activity between our services and agencies, this allows relationships to deepened and enhances partnership working between services with more instances of contact and organised safety planning taking place, increasing understanding and improving how we co-ordinate support for vulnerable adults.

Large Scale Investigations (LSIs)

Two Large Scale Investigations have taken place during the reporting period. Large Scale Investigations are a structured, multi-agency adult protection process which aims to understand and prevent harm from occurring across care and community settings. Usually these occur where several adults may be placed at risk of harm and are used to support services and agencies to improve and develop practice.

In both instances, the multiagency arrangements worked as planned, reviews were undertaken with collaborative approaches to learning and improvement. This saw a review of practices in each setting with services showing improvement in processes, practice and areas such as data collection, audit and assurance.

The experiences evidenced the effectiveness of our services and ensured partners collectively worked together to keep vulnerable adults safe whilst capturing and enacting on learnings ascertained from reviews. The process will be reviewed in light of national guidance and following assessment of learnings from local LSI experiences.

IMAGE: A graphic reads “PARTNERSHIP” and shows the words “COLLABORATION”, “PLANNING”, “PERFORMANCE”, “TEAMWORK” and “SUCCESS” connected in a progression.

IMAGE: A photograph shows one person placing or holding another person’s hand or forearm, illustrating care and support in the context of partnership working and Large Scale Investigations.

Improvements to Guidance and Procedures

Chronologies

Chronologies are an area of complex change across Scotland; there is more emphasis on partnership working and services and agencies are continually looking for more intuitive ways to work closer with vulnerable adults and those who care for and support them. In November 2025, The Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services (IRISS) undertook research to better understand the position of chronology practice across Scotland. Orkney was identified as an example of excellent chronology practice guidance and has been published upon the IRISS website. This is a great success for services and agencies and an example of how work done locally has helped to shape national processes to emerging practice developments across Scotland.

IMAGE: A document cover reads “Orkney Adult Support and Protection Shared Chronology Guidance”. It includes a contents list with “Definition and importance of chronology”, “Who should keep a chronology?”, “What information should be included in a chronology?” and “Appendix 1: Orkney ASP Shared Chronology Template”.

Hoarding and Self Neglect

Similarly, IRISS also reviewed new guidance produced in Orkney which was also held in the same high regard. Orkney developed Self Neglect and Hoarding Protocols which were issued across our partnership to support understanding of topics. This guidance has aided other Council Services as well as organisations such as the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to identify warning signs and raise concerns, this supports both early intervention and identification and has led to safer outcomes for vulnerable adults in our area.

IMAGE: A document cover reads “ORKNEY PRACTITIONER GUIDANCE: SELF NEGLECT AND HOARDING PROTOCOL AND TOOLKIT”.

Financial Harm

Financial Harm was also identified as an area for development. In September 2024 Orkney produced the first version of financial harm guidance for sharing amongst our partnership. As with other guidance this document was support by professional areas such as the Office of the Public Guardian and outlined aspects such as “What is Financial Harm?” how to identify this form of harm, risk factors and steps that could be taken to prevent Financial Harm from occurring. Helpfully, the guidance also outlines the roles and responsibilities of agencies under the ASP (Scotland) 2007 act, enhancing understanding and supporting collaborative working.

IMAGE: A document cover reads “ORKNEY PRACTITIONER GUIDANCE: FINANCIAL HARM”.

Placement Stability

Placement Stability Procedures have also been produced. When an adult transitions from their family home into a registered residential care setting, the aim is always to provide a permanent homely environment where their care and support needs will be met for the remainder of their lifetime. Occasionally, there may be times where the transition is exceptionally difficult, especially as the demographic of Orkney is aging and presenting with more complex needs.

Placement Stability Procedures have supported staff in our residential settings to have a forum to discuss concerns or issues at an early stage, this provides opportunity for co-ordinated planning and additional supports to be put in place to prevent, as far as possible, the need for out of area placement. Supporting adults to work towards stability when challenges arise and ensuring that they can live safely within a shared living environment, close to their families, support networks and friends.

IMAGE: A document cover reads “PLACEMENT STABILITY PROCEDURE ADULT SOCIAL WORK”. It contains sections headed “BACKGROUND” and “WHAT IS A PLACEMENT STABILITY MEETING?”

Documents under Development

We continue to learn and develop collectively, both locally and nationally ensuring we are engaged with national learning and outcomes from other review processes. This means we can intuitively identify gaps based on shared experiences across Scotland. Gaps identified in national Guidance are supported through partnership working with groups such as the Social Work Scotland Adult Support and Protection Network. This has supported services to stay focused on emerging challenges and trends. One such trend being addressed in the coming year includes guidance for “How to Keep Adults Safe Online”. This document is planned to be launched around either Safer Internet Day or Adult Support and Protection Day 2026.

IMAGE: A photograph shows a group of people seated around a table while another person presents beside a flip chart, illustrating partnership discussion and planning.

Communicating with Staff, Vulnerable Adults and Carers

One area we have focused on in recent years is closing the loop when it comes to feedback. To do this we considered all the ways we communicate with partners, vulnerable groups and people and those providing care and support. We aim to communicate with people in ways that are meaningful to them, talking their language and ensuring communications are accessible where needed. We recognise that the Voice of those we support is central to creating inclusive communications and seek feedback from those with lived experience wherever possible.

Easy Read Documents

Easy Read Documents are simplified versions of documents we all find complex. They aim to present information in helpful, accessible ways. In Orkney we increasingly work to include easy read documents as a core part of development in partnership with Third Sector colleagues. Ensuring we find ways to simplify messaging for vulnerable people we support; to help them understand how help is provided.

IMAGE: An easy-read document headed “Orkney Adult Support & Protection Committee” includes the statement “A Social Worker told me that ‘I am an adult at risk’.” It uses illustrations and short explanations to show what happens next, including a social worker visit, a letter explaining why, and an opportunity for the person to share their views.

Use of Video and Animation

We understand communication needs come in all shapes and forms. Another area of development is use of video and animation to help explain complex topics which could be revisited.

Some animations being developed included explanatory notes on Case Conferences and ASP processes and plans to create video resources explaining Power of Attorney and Adults with Incapacity.

IMAGE: A graphic contains speech bubbles with the text “How can we make things better for you?” and “Well…”

Seeking Feedback and Enhancing the Voices of Staff and those we Support

The voices of our Staff and the vulnerable adults we support has been given a priority focus. We have increased our feedback mechanisms through surveys and interviews with advocacy. This feedback has enhanced voices and improved our processes and those with lived experience to contribute towards strategic planning and developments.

This change has allowed services to enhance guidance to better meet the needs of those we support and made improvements to processes such as Case Conferences through regular reporting at our committees.

IMAGE: A publication cover reads “Adult Support and Protection Case Conference Feedback Review”, with the date “December 2025”. Other images show online self-evaluation questionnaires relating to Adult Support and Protection and chronology.

Training, Learning and Development

Procedures and guidance have been revised and updated. This has supported a culture of continuous improvement and further development to our audits of practice which have played an integral role in the most recent years. We have seen training and engagement take place, with ongoing regular reporting to the Public Protection Partnerships and Chief Officers Group. Examples included:

1. The Committee focused upon Audit, Self Evaluation and Voice of the Client over the last 2 years. This has supported planed service improvements using the experiences of those we support and was further supported by local advocacy services.

2. Specific training was provided to Council Officers, providing several new Council Officers within the Adult Support and Protection Service. This supported the longevity and sustainability of Council Officer Support in Orkney. – There are now 14 Council Officer Trained Social Workers, across several services.

3. The Service have continued to host training sessions with our care providers as “ASP Bitesized” sessions. Training has been delivered to all of our primary care facilities as well as to service providers who require a knowledge of ASP including third sector colleagues. The training has been popular and continues to develop as time progresses.

4. Individual work with staff has been followed up with further Case File Auditing. Results from a further four case files audits have provided important learnings which have been incorporated within the Adult Support and Protection Service Improvement Plan. Audits have shown positive developments in Service mirroring findings of the progression review.

5. Further work has revised procedures, including reference to the new Codes of Practice (2022) and in developing appropriate materials and inputs. This has included a Placement Stability Procedure for Adult Social Work in Care Homes, Online Safety Guidance and plans to improve our Large-Scale Investigation Guidance due over 2026/27.

6. Services are considering a Case Conference Standards document, this document would aim to ensure standards at agreed for all case conferences regarding attendance, participation information sharing and decision making.

7. Financial Harm protocols were successfully published at year end 2024, following publication of national guidance. The Office of the Public Guardian have supported services by attending Team meetings to discuss their powers regarding investigations of Power of Attorney. Once published the service plan to run Financial Harm training which will further support embedding of the protocols.

8. The Partnership has actively sought feedback from those involved in the service since early 2024. This has resulted in several feedback papers being provided to the OPPC discussing feedback directly from those we support and professionals who have been involved in the process. Committee will continue to develop user feedback with such papers now common practice.

Engagement, Involvement and Communication

The Public Protection Committee has undergone a period of review and reflection, this considered attendance, structure, quality of papers, and strategic direction. The review was shared with our Chief Officers Group (COG) in September 2026 and will lead to significant changes within the structures. Implementation of the new model will see a streamlined Committee structure and greater alignment to the National Public Protection diagram. This will welcome additional Partnerships into the Chief Officers Group (COG) scope and is hoped will see increased partnership working and participation with capacity returning through a new streamlined system.

Changes were supported by engagement with our partners. Senior leaders were consulted following Public Protection Committee invitees being surveyed to discover what was working well, what could be improved and to seek any suggestions of change which partners felt would be beneficial.

IMAGE: A public protection diagram places the Chief Officers Group at the centre, surrounded by Child Protection, Adult Support and Protection, Multi-agency Public Protection Arrangements, Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships, Violence Against Women and Girls, and Suicide Prevention.

Other notable areas have been the continuation of “Voice of” reporting; this is seen as a core strength of the Adult Support and Protection Committee and Adult Social Work Services. Efforts continue to improve the process which are being supported by additional advocacy input. Feedback following Adult Support and Protection Case Conferences has also been improved, following the release of guidance for Collecting feedback from service users and staff. This guidance was reviewed and amendments were made to surveys and communications we use to gather feedback from all involved in Adult Support and Protection processes.

Additional public communication mechanisms now exist. Orkney has extended an existing online resource for Children and Young People to include a section made for Adults and Professionals. Protect Orkney partners the Growing up in Orkney space to ensure each has a specific area designed to communicate using appropriate language for each age group. The expansion includes a variety of educational resources and is a central point for advice, support and learning resources for all in the community. The resource is also supported by a social media page on Facebook where the community can interact and feedback on the website, resources and any suggested improvements.

IMAGE: A screenshot of the Protect Orkney website shows the “PROTECT ORKNEY” title, navigation links for different audiences and a colourful illustrated landscape with a kite, water, hills and a small house. Buttons include “I have a concern about someone” and “I would like to provide feedback”. A QR code for Protect Orkney is also shown.

Challenges and Areas for Improvement

Capacity

Capacity remains the greatest challenge for the partnership. The exponential growth in referrals and support being provided is a major success of our partnership and has shown the impact of their efforts to connect with the community and support vulnerable adults. This success has seen increased workloads, pressurised environments and with an emergence of more complex needs’ places significant strain on our teams. Although both Large-Scale Investigations were well attended and supported, this added medium term significant pressures with one Investigation starting the afternoon the first had ended. Conversations continue amongst services which are considering resource and organisational abilities to work in agile ways.

IMAGE: A chart titled “Adult Support and Protection Activity” shows ASP activity rising from 10 in 2019/20 to 131 in 2025/26, with year-on-year and base-year percentage increases.

Shared Responsibilities

Part of our capacity challenges can be solved through revisiting shared responsibilities between partners. Understanding our roles and the parts each other play is a vital part of training and development. Linked to efforts to enhance our communication, supporting understanding of all involved in our processes will be supported by training aligned to the National Framework for Adult Support and Protection Learning and Development (Scottish Government, 2026).

The Framework provides a clear sense of direction for training and mirrors the pre-existing children’s framework. Embedding of the framework provides a clear path to enhanced understanding and increased capabilities within our workforce and communities. This area of focus will support Orkney to continue sustained improvement in the coming year and support broader understanding of areas such as transitions.

IMAGE: An illustration titled “Shared Responsibility” shows several people contributing pieces to a central circular shape, with symbols including a checklist, a tick, a paper aeroplane, a padlock, an envelope and a “done” label.

Chronologies

Notwithstanding the Orkney Shared Chronology Guidance being held as an example best practice by IRISS, capacity challenges have presented limited ability to ascertain desired information such as key life story events from the adult themselves. Audit is supporting consistent practice and support to staff whilst conversations continue to support additional capacity in our busy systems.

IMAGE: The cover of “Orkney Adult Support and Protection Shared Chronology Guidance” is shown.

Multi-Agency Audit and Improvement Process

Audit is an area of strength for our partnership. For the last 3 years at regular intervals, audit reporting has been provided to the Adult Protection Committee. These audits have supported us to track progress and identify areas requiring additional support or focus where practice has not followed the predicted change.

The next stage for our audit processes is to expand beyond single agency audit. Our audit practices must be considered multi-agency. This development will improve our quality of reporting, support shared understanding and provide opportunity for staff to reflect and challenge our services and agencies in ways supportive of a continuous learning and improvement culture. Plans are underway to support a Multi-Agency Audit Group to be formed in early 2027.

IMAGE: A diagram shows NHS Orkney, Orkney Islands Council and Police Scotland connected in a triangle around the Orkney Public Protection Committee logo.

Transitioning Ages

Looking beyond our services, transitioning ages is becoming an increasingly complex area of practice. With introduction of the United Nations Convention on Rights of a Child (UNCRC) and implementation of the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act 2024 services and agencies must work closer together now more than ever to understand these changes and find solutions to the barriers which may present with these complex pieces of legislation.

The challenges with transitioning ages are beyond that of our own services and agencies as our staff remain committed and connected to supporting national groups and forums to discuss how services can proactively act to implement these important changes across our Children’s and Adult Services both locally and nationally.

IMAGE: A publication cover reads “The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child” and shows raised hands in front of a child-rights emblem.

IMAGE: A logo reads “CYCJ Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice”.

Looking Forward

The future for Orkney is one where continuous improvement and development is an integral part of the organisations DNA. Orkney has experienced several positive developments between 2024 to 2026 have been a testament to the collective efforts of the Adult Protection Partnership in Orkney.

The progress is well recognised locally and by the Joint Inspectorates, however we know there will always be improvements to make as we continually strive for excellence.

To support future developments, the Chair is completing a review of the Public Protection arrangements in Orkney. The review has considered the experiences of those working within our systems and taken on board feedback from our colleagues across services and agencies. Due for presentation to the Chief Officers’ Group (COG) in September 2026, this review will shape how we deliver Public Protection locally, ensuring the review supports both our staff and those who we protect.

Findings from the recent ASP Joint Inspection Progress Review will inform our Adult Protection Committee, ASP Improvement Plan and provided clear direction as to how we can develop our services and agencies further including closer connectivity to the Care Inspectorate’s Quality Improvement Framework for Adult Support and Protection in Scotland. We will continue to work closely with partners across Scotland and organisations such as IRISS to continue our progress.

Challenges remain regarding the pace of increase in Adult Support and Protection referrals year on year; however, these challenges emphasise the need for our partners to work collectively to improve our services and support to those who we seek to protect.

Ross Drummond, Independent Chair, Orkney Adult Protection Committee

IMAGE: A photograph shows standing stones in a grassy Orkney landscape beside water, with hills and a cloudy sky in the background.

Further Information

If you require any further information in relation to this report, please contact:

OPPC@orkney.gov.uk

Or call:

01856 873535 Extension 2604

IMAGE: A landscape photograph shows an Orkney coastal or loch-side setting with grassy archaeological remains in the foreground, water and hills in the distance, and text providing the contact email OPPC@orkney.gov.uk and telephone number 01856 873535 Extension 2604.