CYP Bill: Consultation closes
Twelve weeks ago we marked a key point on our journey to make Scotland the best place for children to grow up when we published our public consultation on the Children and Young people Bill. The proposed Bill will support our aspirations for Scotland’s children and take forward our commitment to improving their life chances.
This consultation has now closed and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who took part. We have received a significant number of responses from a range of stakeholders, partners and individuals across the country and their input is hugely valued and appreciated.
The proposed Children and Families Bill is extremely important. Our principal aim with this legislation is to improve the lives of children and young people by making sure services are more child centred, joined up, and focused on children’s rights. The Bill presents an opportunity to make the most important changes to public services in a generation and help safeguard the future of our young people and their families.
The measures we’re looking to bring forward with this Bill include introducing the best package of early learning and childcare in the UK as well as legally embedding our Getting it Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) approach to ensure services work together in the interest of the child. We also propose extending the powers of Scotland’s Children’s Commissioner to enable him to launch investigations on behalf of individuals. Elsewhere, our plans also include introducing a new kinship care order as an additional option to help provide children with a long-term, stable, care environment.
In addition to the formal consultation, we’ve also been very busy over the summer with a range of activities around the Bill, meeting a large number of people who are interested in, or will be affected by, this ambitious Bill. Over 800 people attended various events including representatives from the likes of Children 1st, Quarriers, Aberlour a number of Councils, Health Boards and the Police. Elsewhere, we also spoke – either face to face or via an online survey – with hundreds of children and young people to hear their views on how the Bill will improve their lives. We are also carrying out a survey with parents to obtain their views on our proposals.
Feedback from all of this, along with the formal consultation responses, will be essential in helping determine the way forward for the Bill. The next step will be to analyse the consultation responses and feedback and then finalise the details of the Bill before it’s introduced to Parliament next year.
I look forward to continued working with you all over the coming weeks and months and again extend my thanks for your valued contributions to this crucial piece of future leglislation.
About the author
Aileen Campbell was first elected to the Scottish Parliament in May 2007 as a list member for the South of Scotland. She was re-elected as the MSP for Clydesdale at the May 5, 2011 election and appointed to her present position. Full biography.
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