Covering Letter
Children, Young People and Social Care Directorate
Positive Futures Division
Children's Rights Team
T: 0131-244 7932 F: 0131-244 0978
E: Kit.Wyeth@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
15 December 2008
Dear Consultees,
Improving the Lives of Children in Scotland - are we there yet?
Consultation on the Scottish Government's response to the 2008 Concluding Observations from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
If you work with children or work on their behalf, then you are promoting and supporting their rights.
Children's rights are relevant to everyone whose work impacts on children - including teachers, social workers, police officers, nurses, judges, town planners, GPs, Directors of local authority services, classroom assistants etc. All of these and more have an interest in ensuring that children are able to fully enjoy their right to play, their right to be healthy and happy, to learn new things and be looked after and nurtured whether they live at home or not. All of these are rights enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child ( UNCRC).
The UNCRC applies to all those aged under 18 in Scotland. It is an international law that recognises that all children and young people have rights.
The Scottish Government has made clear its commitment to the UNCRC and to promoting and supporting the rights of all children in Scotland as a key strand of its activity to improve outcomes for all.
On 3 October 2008 the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued a series of recommendations ('Concluding Observations') setting out where they believed the UK was falling short of ensuring the rights of all children. The full text of the Concluding Observations can be found here: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/docs/AdvanceVersions/CRC.C.GBR.CO.4.pdf
The majority of the recommendations are of relevance to Scotland and the Scottish Government has committed to responding positively to them. You will see that in the vast majority of cases what we are doing in Scotland is already very much in keeping with the UNCRC, with the Committee's recommendations and with the Government's ambition to improve outcomes for all children.
We have prepared the attached table that shows the draft Scottish Government response to each of the recommendations from either the UN Committee or domestic NGOs and the Children's Commissioner. We are now asking all those who work for or with children to let us know:
- What do you think are the most important issues for priority action?; and
- Do you think the proposed response is proportionate and realistic?
This consultation will help us to prioritise actions as a result of the recommendations and gauge the response to activity already underway.
The attached table is very detailed. There are 142 numbered rows, each containing a recommendation and draft SG response. Most people will not have an interest in all of the recommendations. To make it easier to find the section you have an interest in, the table is broken up into a series of 'clusters' as follows:
- Pages 1 - 5: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNCRC
- p6 - 11: FAIRNESS AND EQUALITY
- p12 - 15: FREEDOM TO BE A CHILD
- p16 - 22: FAMILY LIFE AND CHILDREN IN CARE
- p23 - 26: CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
- p26 - 37: HEALTH AND WELLBEING
- p38 - 43: EDUCATION AND PLAY
- p44 - 48: CHILDREN SEEKING ASYLUM
- p49 - 51: CHILD TRAFFICKING AND CHILD EXPLOITATION
- p52 - 55: YOUTH JUSTICE
- p56 - 58: MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES
Most will want to concentrate on their area of knowledge, expertise or interest. However, you should feel free to respond to as many or as few issues as you would like. Issues that are likely to attract more attention are:
- incorporation of UNCRC into Scots law (page 1, row 4);
- physical punishment (pages 14-15, rows 29-32);
- child protection (pages 15-18, rows 33, 36-39; pages 49-51, rows 121-125);
- looked after children (pages 18-22, rows 40-58);
- child poverty (pages 35-37, rows 89-95);
- Children seeking asylum and refugees (pages 44-48, rows 106-120).
- Age of criminal responsibility (page 52, row 127).
An electronic copy of this letter and its associated documents are available on the SG website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Consultations/Current.
When responding, please make clear the row you are responding to (row number is in the first column). Responses should be sent to Tracy O'Hanlon at: tracy.o'hanlon@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.
Please call me (0131 244 7932), Tracy (0131 244 0789) or Joanna Mackenzie (0131 244 0707) if you have any questions or queries.
The closing date for this consultation is Monday 2 March.
We will also be running a series of consultation events - see below.
We will be running a series of events to allow an additional or alternative way to feed in your views. These are being organised, on our behalf, by the Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights and will be held on: - Friday 30 January in Glasgow at the Menzies Hotel Kathleen Marshall
- Tuesday 3 February in Dundee at the West Park Adam Ingram
- Tuesday 10 February in Edinburgh at the Hilton Grosvenor Adam Ingram
- Fri 13 February in Inverness at the Ramada Kathleen Marshall
These events are primarily to give you the chance to have your say. There will also be key note speeches from Minister for Children and Early Years, Adam Ingram MSP at the Dundee and Edinburgh events and Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People, Kathleen Marshall will speak at the Glasgow and Inverness events. There will also be other speakers, to be confirmed who will provide a specific focus for each event. For more information on these events, please email: ChildrensRightsScotland@googlemail.com Children and young people are being involved separately through a variety of activities. This work is being co-ordinated by Young Scot. |
Many thanks for your contribution.
KIT WYETH
Children's Rights Team