Education, Children and Young People Committee 17 December 2025
I heard your question on that point, convener, and I heard Professor Alexis Jay say in response that she is supportive of the approach that we have put out in principle. It is important that the committee and Parliament recognise that she will have a role in relation to supporting the methodology and providing expertise to the national review. That is hugely important, to my mind. She also said that we will know, within the course of the next few months, the impacts of that work. I want to be careful, convener, because I will be giving a statement to Parliament later today on the issues, but I am very pleased that we have her expertise involved in the work.
I should also say—I think that Professor Alexis Jay touched on some of this work as well, although I did not listen to her full evidence session—that the inspectorates are all independent of Government. They have statutory responsibilities. Importantly, they also have statutory powers to investigate, which ministers do not have, so the evidence base that the inspectorates will be key in delivering will provide us with further information on the scale and the challenge in relation to child sexual abuse across the country.
I also heard from Professor Alexis Jay’s evidence that, at the current time, we do not have a sufficient evidence base. I think that she also said that that is not unique to Scotland. However, it is imperative that that evidence base is built upon, and the Government is taking forward that work. I look forward to saying a bit more on that this afternoon, but for committee members’ reassurance—and I think that you acknowledged this, convener—I have organised for Professor Alexis Jay and Police Scotland to give a private briefing to MSPs, which I think is hugely important, in January.