Commentary on Sections Mutual assistance Section 183 – Mutual assistance
267.This section places an obligation on CHS, the National Convener, SCRA and the Principal Reporter to co-operate with each other in relation to the performance of their duties under the Act. Each of them must comply with a request by the other for assistance in carrying out functions conferred by the Act. Subsection (3) provides that a local authority may make a request to not only another local authority, but also a health board, for assistance in the performance of the local authority’s functions under the Act, and those persons are under a duty to comply. This reflects the fact that the compulsory supervision order may require the local authority to provide services under the order which the authority does not itself provide, under section 144(3). Furthermore, the power to request assistance and the duty to comply extends to all the local authority’s functions under the Act so it would therefore cover for example, investigating whether a child should be referred to the reporter, or responding to requests for information from the National Convener under section 180 or 181, as well as functions relating to implementing any orders under the Act. Subsection (5) provides that any request under section 183 must specify the assistance that is required. The duties in this section do not apply if complying with a request would be incompatible with any function of the person or would unduly prejudice the conduct of that function (subsection (6)).