Child Protection Committees

Child Protection Committees are locally-based, inter-agency strategic partnerships which lead on the development of local child protection policy and practice.

They are made up of senior representatives from all local services who contribute to the protection of children and young people and they are held to account by their “Chief Officers” – the Chief Executive of the local authority, the Chief Executive of the local health board and the Commander of the local police division.

They also work in partnership with Scottish Government to take forward child protection policy and practice across Scotland.

Child Protection Committees have a broad range of responsibilities, which are laid out in: Protecting children and young people: Child Protection Committee and Chief Officer responsibilities .

Child Protection Committees Scotland

Child Protection Committees Scotland (CPCScotland) brings together a wealth of knowledge and expertise from the multi-agency child protection community.

Child Protection Committees Scotland has a pivotal role to play, in conjunction with the Scottish Government and other partners in the protection of children across the country, by supporting the development and delivery of efficient and effective processes, common standards, and continuous improvement.

Key role and function of CPCScotland

The following are the key objectives which underpin the operation of CPCScotland meetings:

Share, exchange, and promote child protection policy and practice developments, best practice and agree action on areas of shared concern
Inform national policy and practice developments in respect of child protection
Agree inputs from other parts of the Scottish Government or other agencies, as appropriate
Share issues in relation to the impact and implementation of new legislation, policy and practice guidance in respect of child protection
Promote opportunities for peer support and networking
Contribute to the wider public protection agenda