Hansard

The issues in relation to the age of criminal responsibility have been well rehearsed in Parliament and will continue to be debated as a consequence of the passage into law of the bill that we are considering this afternoon.

The bill incorporates into our domestic law the significant elements and issues of the UN convention that are within the competence of the Scottish Parliament, enabling Scotland to live up to and build on the important journey that we have started to ensure that we have the highest level of rights in place in our country. That moment should be marked and celebrated by Parliament today. It helps that the Equalities and Human Rights Committee has unanimously recommended to the Parliament that the general principles of the bill be agreed to.

At this important stage in the bill’s passage, I want to take time to congratulate those who have advocated for such a bill for many years. It is with their insight and passion that Scotland is now ready to take this momentous step on its journey towards fully realising children’s rights.

I am grateful to the children’s rights organisations and the many children and young people who have been champions of the need for incorporation of the UNCRC since its ratification in 1991. I congratulate those champions on getting us to this important part of our rights journey.

I also extend my sincere gratitude to colleagues in public authorities. Despite the extremely challenging circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic, they have proactively engaged with the Government and have shown their support for the bill’s principles. I will continue to give careful consideration to the support that public authorities need in order to fully realise the ambition in the bill. My officials are working closely with a range of stakeholders to ensure that accessible guidance, training and other materials are put in place as part of the implementation plan, in order to support public authorities, practitioners, children and families. The Government is committed to maintaining that collaborative approach through the passage of the bill, its commencement and its implementation.

I want to celebrate the work of the Equalities and Human Rights Committee and how it engaged with, and listened to the views of, children and young people during its stage 1 evidence taking. More than 50 written responses were received from children and young people. In addition, the committee organised seven events to engage with children and young people who would not ordinarily provide their views directly to Parliament.

The bill’s importance to the real-life experience of children and young people can be felt in this quote. One child was reported by the committee to have said:

“I think that if the Bill becomes a law, it will make so many vulnerable and poor children and families feel much more protected”.

That is the strongest commendation from children in our society.

The committee’s engagement makes clear the excitement that children and young people feel about realising their rights and the rights of others. Their engagement with the parliamentary process also demonstrates how important it is that children and young people are fully recognised as people in their own right, and that they have a voice to claim their rights.

I express my gratitude to the committee for its commitment to supporting children as rights holders and as active participants in the decisions that affect them. The committee’s work is inspiring, and I hope that it acts as a great source of encouragement for other committees and decision makers and shows what can be achieved if we listen carefully to our children and young people.

On 18 January, the Scottish Government published its response to the recommendations in the committee’s stage 1 report. I welcome the report and its recommendations. As set out in the Government’s response, I intend to lodge amendments that will deliver on a large number of the committee’s recommendations.

In line with my strategic commitment to a maximalist approach to incorporation, within the limits of the Scottish Parliament’s competence, the bill intends to ensure that compatibility with the UNCRC requirements is required in every instance in which public functions are undertaken. The Government is confident that the bill as drafted would not enable a public authority to contract out its obligations under the bill.

However, I have listened carefully to the case for making it clear that those undertaking functions pursuant to contracts or other arrangements with public authorities should also be subject to the requirement not to act incompatibly. I am pleased to confirm that the Government will lodge an appropriate amendment to strengthen the protection that the bill provides in that regard. Children and young people deserve to have their rights prioritised and upheld by all those undertaking functions, including those who are paid to undertake functions on behalf of public authorities.

Guidance to support public authorities and those undertaking functions of a public nature to fulfil their duties under the bill will be provided as part of the implementation programme. That guidance will be developed in partnership with the bodies that will be affected.

The bill as drafted already recognises the importance of non-binding sources of interpretation that courts may take into account when they are determining a case. Such sources include the preamble to the convention, the first and second optional protocols and articles that have not been included in the bill because they fall outwith the powers of the Scottish Parliament. In line with the committee’s recommendation, the Government will lodge an amendment that will expand that list to include sources that emanate from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. Although it is the contents of the UNCRC requirements that are authoritative, the amendment will recognise the important role that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child plays in supporting the effective implementation of the convention across the world.

I highlight that the Government will also lodge an amendment to strengthen the children’s rights scheme obligation on the Scottish ministers, as recommended by the committee. Section 11 of the bill requires that the Scottish ministers publish a children’s rights scheme, setting out the arrangements that ministers have made, or propose to make, to fulfil the duty not to act incompatibly with children’s rights.

I am very happy to make clear that ministers will always be required to include and report on the topics listed in the bill.

The scheme will also be strengthened by requiring updates on arrangements to promote a child-friendly complaints mechanism and ensure effective access to justice for children and young people. Those improvements will ensure that Scottish ministers fulfil their role as leaders in children’s rights.

The committee asked for the bill to be commenced six months after royal assent. I continue to give serious consideration to balancing the current, extraordinary demands on public bodies with the ambition to deliver legal protection for children’s rights as soon as possible.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been felt acutely by children and young people. It has disrupted their lives in previously unimaginable ways. Respect for children’s rights in tackling the adverse effects of Covid-19 is critical.

The impact of the pandemic and the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union will continue to place additional burdens on children and young people for years to come. The bill is essential to our recovery and to getting the fairer and more equal society that the Scottish Government wants for Scotland’s future. As such, I am keen to avoid allowing an extended period of time to elapse before the commencement of the bill.

I acknowledge that the bill provides an opportunity to protect the rights of children and young people who have been significantly impacted by the current crisis, and I am also aware that there is support from a range of stakeholders for early commencement.

I want to be clear that it is my expectation that readiness for commencement of the bill should be a priority for all public authorities. I would expect those public bodies already to deliver their services to children and families in Scotland in a way that respects children’s rights, and I will consider further the issue about a commencement date as we reflect on all the important issues that I have put on the record.

I believe that this bill is an important step in supporting children and young people in fully realising their potential. There is a broad consensus that the incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into domestic law will advance children’s rights across Scotland. It is time for Scotland to enshrine children’s rights in Scots law and help to make Scotland the best place in the world for our children to grow up in.

The bill paves the way to ensuring the rights of every single one of our precious children in Scotland.

I move,

That the Parliament agrees to the general principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill.