Professor the Lord Patel
"The lack of any statutory provision for vulnerable adults, means that trained appropriate adults are often unavailable or provision is limited. The non-statutory nature, means those areas with a service are defenceless in the face of budget cuts. Placing appropriate adult provision for mentally vulnerable adults on a statutory footing...would ensure parity with children’s services, provide clarity and accountability, and prevent mentally vulnerable adults from ‘slipping through the cracks’ between agency responsibilities and ensure independence from the police".
Rt Hon Theresa May MP
"The status quo is clearly not acceptable and I was concerned to read that a number of mentally vulnerable adults, who clearly meet the current eligibility criteria in PACE Code of Practice C, do not receive the support of an appropriate adult...the priority must be to act to ensure that vulnerable people are provided with the support they are entitled to".
Rt Hon Lord Bradley PC
"The police work in a difficult environment with incredible time pressures. Trained appropriate adults must be quickly available wherever they are needed. Along with liaison and diversion, and street triage, they are critical part of a coherent approach to vulnerabilities which both saves money and delivers better outcomes."
Chief Constable Balhatchet
“Appropriate adults (AA) play a crucial role in the effective operation of not only custody, but the Criminal Justice System as a whole. The provision of a quality AA service ensures the needs of children and vulnerable adults are met, and that their rights and entitlements are fulfilled. In doing so, it ensures that any product of the custody process, such as an interview or collection of forensic evidence, is going to stand up to scrutiny in court and be admissible. Unlike the statutory duty imposed on Local Authorities to provide AAs for children, there is no such obligation for vulnerable adults. This has created an inconsistent and inadequate provision for some of the most vulnerable members of our society and a significant challenge for policing to comply with the law. I strongly support the call for a statutory provision of AAs for vulnerable adults, as there already exists for children in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.”.
Deputy Chief Constable Kemp
““I strongly support the establishment of a statutory duty to provide appropriate adults (AAs) for vulnerable people, as exists for children in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. The availability of independent AAs is critical to ensuring custody meets the needs of policing and the expectations of the public, and that evidence is reliable and admissible. Custody performs a pivotal function in the criminal justice process, but the absence of an AA to support a vulnerable person at this point has the potential to undermine the very purpose of the process: justice. While police have a duty to identify and secure AAs, there is no corresponding legal obligation for any authority to ensure AAs' availability for vulnerable adults. This gap has caused significant operational challenges. Statutory provision will enhance the integrity and effectiveness of our justice system”.
Rt Hon Chris Philp
"We acknowledge that appropriate adult provision for vulnerable adults needs to improve and will look towards both the police and local authorities to work together to improve in this area.
Local authorities have a statutory responsibility for the provision of appropriate adults for children who must be provided an appropriate adult when detained in police custody.
Adults identified as vulnerable must be supported in custody by an Appropriate Adult. The 2018 PCC-Local Authority Partnership was introduced to improve the planning and delivery of appropriate adult services".
Response to a parliamentary question by Janet Daby MP, 28 November 2022
Martyn Underhill MBE
"We are clearly not getting it right for the more vulnerable members of our communities who need that extra protection and support. When a vulnerable person comes into contact with the police, their needs deserve to be properly identified, with a needs assessment made, and for them to then be dealt with quickly and fairly. For this to happen, every area needs an organised, trained appropriate adult scheme which is totally independent of the police.”
Dame Anne Owers
“The availability of high-quality AAs is fundamental to ensuring the rights, dignity, and equitable treatment of vulnerable people detained in police custody. As we have found at ICVA, it is clear that this is not always the case, especially out of hours. Yet no-one is legally responsible – and therefore accountable - for ensuring provision. For over 25 years it has been a statutory duty to provide AAs for children. As Chair of ICVA, I urge policymakers to act on NAAN’s call to provide the same mandatory protection for vulnerable adults.”.
Avtar Bhatoa
"To ensure fair justice for all, mentally vulnerable people need the help of an appropriate adult during what can be a daunting and confusing time. With the right support, mentally vulnerable people are less likely to suffer an injustice or to waive their right to free legal advice through fear and misunderstanding, which can compound their disadvantage in the justice system. It is vital that the recommendations in this important report are implemented."
James Bullion
“Helping to support and safeguard our most vulnerable citizens, whether they are victims or suspects, is central to the role of adult social care services.
"Many local authorities have a long history of providing social workers or funding dedicated AA schemes".
Rt Hon Nick Hurd MP
“We know that appropriate adult provision across England and Wales is varied and could be much improved...vulnerable people…are at risk of being let down…this can lead to miscarriages of justice…investigations cannot proceed - placing a strain on police resources and detaining vulnerable adults for longer than is necessary".
Gísli Guðjónsson CBE
"Mentally vulnerable people are at increased risk of providing information which is inaccurate, unreliable or misleading. “The involvement of an appropriate adult to facilitate communication, ensure they understand their rights and are treated fairly, is absolutely critical to a fair process”.
1. Police
Police have a statutory duty to secure an AA for two groups: children and vulnerable people.
While the AA is often a family member or friend, an alternative is required when this is inappropriate or impossible, for example when they are a witness or are caring for others.
Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and statutory codes (PACE) it is critical that the AA is independent of policing. AAs cannot be:
- a police officer or employee,
- under the control and direction of police
- under contractual arrangements with police.
2. Local authorities
Local authorities have an explicit statutory duty to provide appropriate adults under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 s38.
However, this only applies to children.
Local authorities have historically ensured the provision of AAs. They have variously done this via volunteers, social workers, sessional staff, and contracted providers.
However, there is no statutory equivalent for vulnerable people.
3. A gap in the law
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) was a landmark law that contributed to public confidence in policing. It recognised the risks associated with two groups - children and vulnerable people - and required police to secure an appropriate adult.
It was a response to the report of the Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure (1981). Both the Commission and the Act assumed that social workers would fulfil this role where family could not.
The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 ensured AA provison with an explicit statutory duty on local authorities for children. But no provision was made for vunerable adults.
4. Patchy and insecure
Since 2004, NAAN research has shown how this has resulted in patchy, ad-hoc, and insecure AA provision for vulnerable people.
Key findings include:
- “Most forces commented that the poor level of service provision was due to a lack of statutory responsibility for vulnerable adults."
- "Provision varies widely across the country…[with] various statutory bodies arguing about who had responsibility for the service."
- "Need for an AA is around half as likely to be recorded where there is no organised provision”
5. Increasing demands
Despite adult arrests reducing between 2007/08 and 2020/21, appropriate adult schemes have recently seen significant increases in demand due to:
- Increasing percentage of detained adults identified as vulnerable (see chart)
- Increasing police workforce numbers
- Increasing volume of arrests
- Increased focus on addressing police legitimacy, public trust and confidence
- Increased public awareness about mental health, learning disability, and neurodiversity.
- Increased police compliance with PACE requirement to secure an AA as soon as is practicable
6. Falling supply
Just when we need a stable system for ensuring appropriate adults are available:
- Local authorities (LAs) have increasingly terminated AA schemes, sometimes with little notice, citing non-statutory status and severe financial pressures in social care.
- Covid exposed the systemic fragility of a non-statutory approach. While the vast majority of AA schemes continued to provide in-person support throughout the pandemic, some schemes for vulnerable adults simply stopped.
- Post-Covid, the recruitment and retention of AAs has become a major challenge, with a national shortage of volunteers and pressures on wages.
- Policing budgets have been used to plug the gap, raising concerns about independence. Some Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) have been forced to develop emergency measures.
Lord Patel - Queen’s Speech Debate
"I am pleased to have the opportunity to raise an issue...which I believe is long-standing and urgent and on which I believe the Government could act now through a simple amendment to either the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill or the Serious Crime Bill"
"The lack of any statutory provision for vulnerable adults means that trained appropriate adults for this group are often unavailable or that provision is limited. In many areas, services are non-existent".
"We need to see a clear commitment by the Government to take action within this parliamentary Session to tackle these important issues. I fear that without such action, we are heading towards crisis and placing some of the most vulnerable people in our communities at serious risk".
Centre for Mental Health
“There is no body or agency with a statutory responsibility… In places, this means that response to requests is patchy and ad-hoc, with local social services emergency duty teams responding if they have no higher priorities”.
A key milestone
Significant efforts have been made in recognising and addressing the lack of as statutory duty to proviude for vulnerable people.
A key milestone was NAAN being commissioned by the home secretary to review the situation and make recommendations.
We worked with ICPR and an experienced advisory board to publish There to Help (2015).
Recommendations
There to Help offered 10 recommendations. These included:
- A cross-departmental Government committment to ensuring timely access to AA support
- A clear and consistent national framework for local co-comissioning, informed by Health and Wellbeing Boards and Safeguarding Adults Boards
- Enhanced national standards to support local commissioners
- Parity with children's AA provision via a statutory (legal) duty to ensure provision for vulnerable adults.
Rt Hon Theresa May MP
"The status quo is clearly not acceptable...the priority must be to act to ensure that vulnerable people are provided with the support they are entitled to".
Baroness Manzoor
June 2018
Parliamentary debate: PACE 1984 (Codes of Practice) Order 2018
"The noble Lord, Lord Paddick, also raised the issue of finding an appropriate adult. Having worked in the police force, he has vast experience, and I take on board the point he raised. The Government are aware of the problems and keen to work towards resolving them. We will shortly be introducing a voluntary national framework to address this issue. There will be more work and closer partnerships between the PCCs, police forces and other authorities to find solutions to this issue".
7. Voluntary agreement
July 2018
The Home Office published the Appropriate Adult PCC-Local Authority Partnership Agreement England to encourage local authorities to improve appropriate adult provision for vulnerable adults, working with police and crime commissioners (PCCs) to understand demand. It was a voluntary agreement, intended to support local solutions. No funding was attached.
The Home Office committed to evaluate its impact after 6 and 12 months, reviewing the availability, timeliness and standard of AA provision to inform the need for any improvements. This has not been published.
Scotland
In 2019, Scotland placed a statutory duty on local authorities to provide trained appropriate adults whenever they are required by police or other criminal investigative agencies. The Care Inspectorate is legally responsible for assessing quality of provision.
Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Appropriate Adult Scheme (NIASS) provides for children and vulnerable people. It is a non-statutory service commissioned by the Department of Justice, and delivered by the charity Mindwise. Under NI's PACE Code C, an AA may not be an employee of the Policing Board (the NI equivalent of Police and Crime Commissioners)
Wales
In Wales there is no statutory duty to provide appropriate adults for vulnerable people. Over time, each of the Welsh Police and Crime Commissioners has stepped in as local authorities have closed their services. As a result, 100% of AA schemes for vulnerable adults in Wales are currently commissioned by PCCs.