Scottish Government
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Child protection
The largest and most comprehensive examination of child protection measures in Scotland has just finished - allowing safeguards to be strengthened through the most in-depth analysis ever - Children's Minister Adam Ingram said today.
Every area in Scotland has now undergone a thorough multi-agency child protection inspection process, giving the clearest picture ever of how services are performing on the ground.
Mr Ingram said the Scottish Government and child protection agencies had already started drawing from the vast bank of information to help ensure successes can be shared and measures across the country are as robust as possible.
He said:
"We all have a duty to keep our young people safe from harm and this government is passionately committed to ensuring safeguards across Scotland are as strong as they can be.
"That's why this rigorous inspection regime - the most robust in the UK - is so important. This thorough process allows any shortcomings to be identified early and action taken urgently, as we've seen with the significant strides made in areas such as Aberdeen and Midlothian.
"They also allow good practice to be shared across the country and, with the inspection cycle now complete, we have the final piece in the jigsaw and the most in-depth picture ever of how measures to protect our children are performing within Scotland's communities.
"This wealth of evidence allows us to build on successes and we have already begun drawing from it via the review of guidance for child protection professionals currently taking place and the next round of more targeted inspections, which will focus in particular on the areas that need help to drive up consistency across Scotland.
"This government is moving forward with a raft of measures to bolster child protection - such as the hub of professional expertise based at Stirling University and the recently-announced national co-ordinator - which will also be able to utilise this invaluable evidence to help keep Scotland's young people safe."
