News In Focus
24 February 2010
Children's Hearings Bill published
Proposed reforms to Scotland's children's hearings system have been published today as the Scottish Government launches its Children's Hearings (Scotland) Bill.
The bill was delayed after controversy broke out over the plan to make a Scottish Children's Hearings Tribunal responsible for recruitment, support and training for children's panel members, with some members threatening to resign over the proposals.
Under the current proposals, appointment is still to be in the hands of a national authority, the National Convener, who will be assisted by a new body, Children's Hearings Scotland. The National Convener will also provide advice to hearings on law and procedure, the consequences of hearings' decisions, and how they are being implemented.
The Government claims it will put children’s rights at the heart of the system, by giving them the right to see relevant papers and information about their case and ensuring they have the support they need to participate effectively in the hearings system.
More modern grounds for referral are designed to ensure that only those children who
need compulsory measures of supervision will be referred to a hearing.
Ministers claim that improved consistency will be achieved by introducing a single national children’s panel with national recruitment and training and a clearer statutory framework around the work of the Principal Reporter, while supporting the independence of panel members.
The Scottish Children's Reporter Administration will continue to run the children's reporter service for Scotland, which makes decisions on whether a child should be referred to a hearing, and on what grounds.
Children's Minister Adam Ingram said: "Early intervention lies at the heart of the Scottish Government's approach to improving people's life chances and our unique, welfare-based children's hearings system exemplifies this principle.
"That system – in which local volunteers make decisions to improve the lives of local young people – remains the best way of offering support, but children and families today are facing significantly different challenges and circumstances from when it was created.
"The bill will modernise and reinforce the system for the 21st century, ensuring better support for the professionals and volunteers who deliver it, which in turn will mean better outcomes for children through more consistent decision-making."
Click here to access the bill.