Hansard

I am happy to give Cathy Peattie that assurance and I will come on to that issue in a moment or two.

We have been careful to ensure that there is no scope for malicious referrals. Any referral that is not properly made will be weeded out early in the process. An organisation that makes a referral will have to back it up with evidence that it has followed the appropriate dismissal or disciplinary procedures in reaching its decision to sack or move a person away from working with children. We will not entertain referrals that are not backed up with such robust evidence and we will certainly not entertain referrals to the list from individuals who merely have suspicions or concerns about a person. The legislation does not provide for that. Such concerns should be dealt with through each organisation's procedures and investigated where that is necessary and appropriate.

There are concerns that not all employers will have in place the necessary mechanisms to enable them to provide the required information in support of a referral to the list. Cathy Peattie, the deputy convener of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee, referred to the STUC. I had a very helpful meeting with representatives of the STUC to discuss those issues and we agreed that those matters should be covered in the implementation guidance. I will involve the STUC and, of course, other interested organisations at an early stage in the development of that guidance. The STUC has made it very clear that it wants to help in the process and I will be glad to take up its offer.

We must also consider how best to ensure that voluntary organisations have the support, training and guidance that they will need to help them meet the new requirements of the bill. I know that they are keen to play their part in strengthening child protection and we will work with them to help equip them for that role. I can give an assurance that, in bringing the new legislation into force, we will take account of the time that organisations will need to gear up for implementation.

I would like to reinforce the importance of referrals from the courts. Those provisions have attracted little debate during the passage of the bill but, nonetheless, will play an important part in strengthening the protection of children. It is worth spelling out again that those who are convicted of the most serious offences against children—which are listed in schedule 1 to the bill—will be referred to the list and included on it automatically.

For other offences involving children, the court will refer a person to the list unless it is satisfied that the individual is unlikely to commit more offences against children. I expect that those measures will act as a strong deterrent, because those who are included on the list will commit an offence if they try to obtain work with children, or if they continue to work with children. Any organisation that employs a person on the list to work with children will also be guilty of an offence. That sends a very clear message about responsibilities.

I am keen to see the measures in the bill take effect as soon as possible, so although I recognise that it will take some time for organisations to be equipped for their new duty to make referrals to the list, I intend to press ahead as quickly as possible with the processes that are required for referrals from the courts. We will, as a priority, establish the required links and the databases that will be needed.

Throughout the preparation of the bill, we were careful to ensure that the rights of the individual are respected and protected. I am confident that the listing process, together with the extensive appeals procedure, will protect those rights adequately.

Finally, I stress—as others and I have stressed during the debates on the bill—that the new safeguards are not a panacea for every situation. The bill on its own cannot and will not safeguard every child in every situation anywhere, but it will complement the other measures that are in place. There is no substitute for rigorous recruitment practices, including thorough interviews, checking of references, supervision during probationary periods and regular supervision and support of staff and volunteers. Most of all, as the recent report of the child protection review—so aptly called "It's everyone's job to make sure I'm alright"—says, we all have a responsibility to ensure that children can grow up safe from harm in all areas of their lives. That puts the onus on everyone in society—everyone in communities—to take child protection seriously.

Parliament has a good record in its support of children and young people. Today marks another historic step in ensuring that all our children get the best possible start in life. I am therefore pleased to move,

That the Parliament agrees that the Protection of Children (Scotland) Bill be passed.