UNCRC in Scotland
New legislation has been introduced to incorporate the UNCRC into Scots law. The United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child (incorporation) (Scotland) Act came into force on 16 July 2024. The Act aims to ensure that:
- children's rights are respected and protected by law in Scotland.
- public authorities are legally required to respect and protect children's rights in the work they do.
The ambition is to deliver a proactive culture of everyday accountability for Children's rights across public services in Scotland. This means:
- public bodies in Scotland must take proactive steps to ensure the protection of Children's rights in their decision-making and service delivery. It is unlawful for public services to act incompatibly with the UNCRC requirements.
- The Act gives children and young people access to the courts if they feel their rights have been breached.
What we need to do to ensure we implement the Act in Scottish Borders
We need to make sure that everyone knows what children's rights are and that we recognise, respect, support and promote them.
To support delivery of children’s rights in the Scottish Borders, we are:
- making sure the voice and lived experience of children and young people informs our planning and delivery of public services and how our services help realise children's rights
- developing our Impact assessments so that children’s rights are considered when a new strategy, policy is being developed, or when there is a change in public services planned
- publishing a Children's Rights Reports every 3 years to communicate how we are complying with the new act
- ensuring that all children and young people know about their rights
- developing a child-friendly complaints procedure
- commissioning an independent advocacy service for children and young people in the Scottish Borders
A multi-agency approach to children’s rights
The Act places responsibilities to promote and uphold children’s rights on every individual public authority and commissioned service. In the Scottish Borders, we are committed to working collaboratively to ensure that children’s rights are upheld and promoted, and we share learning and resources on children’s rights.
We have a multi-agency working group which involves representatives from NHS Borders, ourselves and local third sector organisations. We undertook an initial self-assessment which helped us identify the good practice we’ve already developed, and key areas we need to work on.
We have produced a draft multi-agency UNCRC Incorporation action plan which is due to be reviewed and signed off by one of the Children and Young People’s Planning Partnership Networks in August.
To find out more about what is happening within your organisation/sector, please contact Children and Young People's Planning Partnership cyppp@scotborders.gov.uk and we will forward your enquiry to the relevant organisation and/or individual.