Written Question · S6W-20030 · Session 6
What it is doing to ensure that care experienced young people are aware of their legal rights and have access to independent legal represen…
The question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that care experienced young people are aware of their legal rights and have access to independent legal representation.
The answer
The Scottish Government is committed to keeping The Promise, which sets out that young people with care experience must have access to independent advocacy and legal representation. The Promise recognises that advocacy requires different approaches and offerings that may be independent of each other. To this end, The Promise Scotland, supported by Scottish Government, are undertaking work to scope a national lifelong advocacy service for care experienced people and advocacy for families coming into contact with the care system. This work is due to report to Ministers by the end of 2023
At present, in Scotland, children and young people with care experience, as with all children and young people, can access publicly funded legal assistance on the broad range of issues adults can. Subject to having legal capacity and satisfying the statutory tests, children and young people can obtain advice from a solicitor about legal problems relating to the application of Scots law covered under the Advice and Assistance Scheme Matters covered by civil advice and assistance
- Scottish Legal Aid Board (slab.org.uk) ]. This includes legal aid for children’s hearings, criminal proceedings, or to resolve civil disputes.
Furthermore, through the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention & Adult Learning & Empowering Communities Third Sector Fund, the Scottish Government provide over £1.4M annually in core funding to 10 organisations that offer support on legal rights and access to independent legal representation for care experienced young people.
In addition to obtaining legal representation, all children and young people can access independent child advocacy services to support them in and around their Children’s Hearings. Whilst children’s advocacy workers are not legal representatives, part of their role is to help children understand and realise their rights. The Scottish Government provides funding to Clan Childlaw to operate a Legal Support Service for independent children’s advocacy workers in the children’s hearing system. The funding also supports training advocacy workers to increase their knowledge of how to use children’s rights to advocate for and support children and young people at children’s hearings. Where a rights breach is identified through the Legal Support Service, the advocacy worker is able to discuss the availability of legal advice and assistance for the child to help them access a solicitor.
Children’s rights realisation requires raising awareness with children as rights holders and what this means in practice, but also requires training and capacity building for those who are implementing decisions. The Scottish Government’s aim is to ensure duty bearers and public authorities achieve a knowledge and understanding of children’s rights and to enable children and their representatives to act upon them. This is central to the implementation of the UNCRC and to embed children’s human rights into the fabric of Scottish society.
At present, in Scotland, children and young people with care experience, as with all children and young people, can access publicly funded legal assistance on the broad range of issues adults can. Subject to having legal capacity and satisfying the statutory tests, children and young people can obtain advice from a solicitor about legal problems relating to the application of Scots law covered under the Advice and Assistance Scheme Matters covered by civil advice and assistance
- Scottish Legal Aid Board (slab.org.uk) ]. This includes legal aid for children’s hearings, criminal proceedings, or to resolve civil disputes.
Furthermore, through the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention & Adult Learning & Empowering Communities Third Sector Fund, the Scottish Government provide over £1.4M annually in core funding to 10 organisations that offer support on legal rights and access to independent legal representation for care experienced young people.
In addition to obtaining legal representation, all children and young people can access independent child advocacy services to support them in and around their Children’s Hearings. Whilst children’s advocacy workers are not legal representatives, part of their role is to help children understand and realise their rights. The Scottish Government provides funding to Clan Childlaw to operate a Legal Support Service for independent children’s advocacy workers in the children’s hearing system. The funding also supports training advocacy workers to increase their knowledge of how to use children’s rights to advocate for and support children and young people at children’s hearings. Where a rights breach is identified through the Legal Support Service, the advocacy worker is able to discuss the availability of legal advice and assistance for the child to help them access a solicitor.
Children’s rights realisation requires raising awareness with children as rights holders and what this means in practice, but also requires training and capacity building for those who are implementing decisions. The Scottish Government’s aim is to ensure duty bearers and public authorities achieve a knowledge and understanding of children’s rights and to enable children and their representatives to act upon them. This is central to the implementation of the UNCRC and to embed children’s human rights into the fabric of Scottish society.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S6W-20030 by reference.