An Exclusion Order requires the removal of a person suspected of harming a child from the family home.
Only a Local Authority can apply for an Exclusion Order under Section 76 (1) Children (Scotland) Act 1995.
Contained within the application there must be a person identified who is capable of taking responsibility for the child and who will live, or is living, in the family home.
Where a Sheriff is satisfied that the conditions for making an Exclusion Order exist, he/she can order that a "named person" be ejected or excluded from a child's family home to ensure the child's protection.
An Exclusion Order can last up to 6 months and the Sheriff can attach conditions to the Order to ensure a child's protection. For example, the Police can be issued with powers of arrest without warrant, which allows them to arrest the "named person" if they believe them to be in danger of breaching the Exclusion Order or one of the conditions attached.
The Sheriff can also attach a condition that the "named person" must not go within the vicinity of the child's home or school or have any contact with the child.
The "named person" has the right to appear in front of the Sheriff prior to an Exclusion Order being granted to state their case. The Sheriff will take their views into account before any decision to grant an Order is made.
Where a Sheriff believe grounds exist for making a Child Protection Order, the Sheriff may grant a Child Protection Order instead of an Exclusion Order and the child may be removed from their home to a place of safety, rather than the ejection or exclusion of a "named person" from the child's home.
Child Protection
Kilncraigs, Greenside Street, Alloa, FK10 1EB
Tel: 01259 225000 / 450000
Email: childprotectioncommittee@clacks.gov.uk