Whether it will review the law of limitation to allow survivors of historic child abuse who were abused before 1964 to seek redress through…

Following references from the previous administration, the Scottish Law Commission thoroughly reviewed the law on prescription and limitation as it relates to all personal injury cases. The Commission''s final report, Personal Injury Actions: Limitation and Prescribed Claims, was published on 5 December 2007 and is available on its website, http://www.scotlawcom.gov.uk.
The report recommended that claims which had in law been extinguished by negative prescription before 1984 (i.e. claims relating to times prior to 26 September 1964) should not now be revived. In a statement to Parliament on 7 February 2008, the Minister for Children and Early Years announced that the Scottish Government is persuaded by the commission''s reasoning and recommendations on this issue. He also confirmed a commitment to identifying appropriate approaches for assisting and supporting survivors of historic child abuse. The Scottish Government proceeded to issue, and is now reviewing responses to, the discussion paper Developing an Acknowledgement and Accountability Forum for Adult Survivors of Childhood Abuse.