Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 20 November 2019
20 Nov 2019 · S5 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
The Scottish Government has stated that it wants to achieve the gold standard on children’s rights and I entirely share that aim. However, earlier this year it failed to meet even the bare minimum expectations of the international community. The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Dunja Mijatovic, said that an age of criminal responsibility of 12 would leave us behind the majority of Council of Europe members. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child intervened during our consideration of the Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Bill, telling us to move the age to 14 immediately, and our own Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland said that any age below 14 cannot be justified in human rights terms. Does the Deputy First Minister recognise that any attempt to incorporate the UNCRC will fail in the eyes of the international community as long as we have an age of criminal responsibility that is among the lowest in the world?
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Ken Macintosh)
NPA
The first item of business is a statement by John Swinney on the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The cabinet se...
The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (John Swinney)
SNP
Today is the 30th anniversary of the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is the most widely ratified human rig...
Alison Harris (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of his statement. As the Parliament will know, the Scottish Conservatives had reservations in the past about ...
John Swinney
SNP
The key point to observe is that the purpose of incorporating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scots law is to provide the highest level of ...
Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
I, too, start by thanking the cabinet secretary for early sight of his statement. Labour members certainly wish to be associated with his remarks on the impo...
John Swinney
SNP
My reference to Scotland’s journey to independence was to reflect what I think is a reality, but it also illustrates the point that the bill will build in a ...
John Finnie (Highlands and Islands) (Green)
Green
I thank the cabinet secretary for early sight of the statement. I very warmly welcome the content of the statement and the progress that has been made. He ta...
John Swinney
SNP
That is obviously an option that could be taken forward. My judgment is that, in trying to make early progress on the bill that we are committed to enact, we...
Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
LD
The Scottish Government has stated that it wants to achieve the gold standard on children’s rights and I entirely share that aim. However, earlier this year ...
John Swinney
SNP
No, I do not accept that analysis. The Government has undertaken the reforms to the age of criminal responsibility working with a very broad range of stakeho...
Ruth Maguire (Cunninghame South) (SNP)
SNP
I welcome the announcement that the Government will not take a “suite of Scottish rights” approach but will seek to incorporate in full and directly, using t...
John Swinney
SNP
I give Ruth Maguire that assurance. We will put into the bill an approach that expects public authorities to act within the terms of the legislation. We will...
Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
The cabinet secretary has made clear his view that all local authorities, all public bodies and all of the Scottish Government will have to be fully accounta...
John Swinney
SNP
Those issues will be the subject of consideration when the financial memorandum is put in place. The Government believes that we have an obligation to ensure...
Emma Harper (South Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
The Deputy First Minister rightly pointed to the fact that our only limitation is the limit of this Parliament’s powers. Will he ensure that, when Scotland f...
John Swinney
SNP
That mechanism will be built into the bill that I introduce, to enable the Parliament to take account of any changes in the powers of the Parliament and to e...
Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Lab
The full adoption of the UNCRC brings with it the possibility of unforeseen incompatibilities with pre-existing legislation, as has been mentioned. Has the G...
John Swinney
SNP
The Government is undertaking work to identify areas in relation to which issues might have to be addressed. That will be a subject of consideration as the b...
Fulton MacGregor (Coatbridge and Chryston) (SNP)
SNP
The Deputy First Minister said that the convention refers to “the equal and inalienable rights” that we should all enjoy. However, it seems that under succ...
John Swinney
SNP
The issue that Mr MacGregor raises is integral to decisions that the Government has taken in a number of respects. First, the Scottish child payment will dir...
Alexander Stewart (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
The cabinet secretary indicated in his statement that the Scottish Government is keen to do more to support children’s participation in policy making. Will h...
John Swinney
SNP
The Government has taken a number of steps to support the inclusion of children and young people in the formulation of policy. We engage extensively with the...
Rona Mackay (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP)
SNP
I am delighted that the Scottish Government has listened to the voices of our nation’s children throughout this process. Will the Deputy First Minister expan...
John Swinney
SNP
We have made a specific commitment by entering into an agreement with Young Scot and Children in Scotland to engage children and young people to advise on an...
Mary Fee (West Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I heard the cabinet secretary’s response to Mr Cole-Hamilton’s question. The recommendation from the United Nations is clear; the age of criminal responsibil...
John Swinney
SNP
Mary Fee took a close interest in the passage of the legislation on the age of criminal responsibility, and she is familiar with what Parliament agreed on th...
Gail Ross (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP)
SNP
I warmly welcome the Deputy First Minister’s statement. Will he outline what material changes and positive outcome he envisages from the incorporation of the...
John Swinney
SNP
First, we will have a legal framework in place that will take the most ambitious approach that we can take to the protection of children’s rights. That will ...