Child Rights Regulation and Improvement Action Group minutes: March 2024


Attendees and apologies

  • Lyndsey Saki (Chair), Scottish Government – LS
  • Aqeel Ahmed (Chair), Scottish Government – AA 
  • Luiza Leite (minutes), Scottish Government – LL 
  • Gita Sharkey, Scottish Government – GS 
  • Amy Watson, Scottish Government – AW 
  • Aileen Nicol, Care Inspectorate – AN 
  • Angela Phillips, Children’s Hearings Scotland – AP 
  • Andrew Dyce, Education Scotland – AD 
  • Clare McGuire, NHS Education Scotland – CM 
  • Linda Mckenna, Scottish Housing Regulator – LM
  • Josh Barnham, Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) – JB 
  • Tricia Meldrum, Audit Scotland – TM 
  • Nina Miller, Audit Scotland – NMR
  • Lisa Kirkbride, Care Inspectorate – LK 
  • Neil Macleod, Scottish Social Services Council – NM
  • Rebecca Spillane, Improvement Service – RS 

Apologies:

  • Abbie Montgomery-Fox, Children’s Hearings Scotland 
  • Stephen Bermingham, Children’s Hearings Scotland  
  • Joanna Smith, NHS Education for Scotland 
  • Craig Morris, Care Inspectorate
  • Craig Naylor, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland
  • Eleanor Kerr, Healthcare Improvement Scotland 
  • Fraser McCallum, Education Scotland
  • Noreen Philips, Education Scotland 
  • Iain Muirhead, Scottish Housing Regulator
  • Jillian Matthew, Audit Scotland 
     

Items and actions

Welcome, apologies and introductions

LS welcomed attendees and noted any apologies received. As there were a number of first time attendees, LS invited new members to introduce themselves. 

Review of Minutes and Action Points

Outstanding actions from the minutes of the last meeting of 16 January 2024 were reviewed:

  • AA to update the terms of reference
  • Powerpoint to be shared on the self-evaluation framework
  • AA to arrange a deep – dive on the Short observational framework for inspection (SOFI) inspection tool
  • AA to circulate a paper on engaging with children and young people

All actions were marked as complete. 
Lisa Kirkbride and AA had a conversation about arranging a spotlight session on SOFI – this is scheduled for the next meeting in May. It would be helpful to note any future meetings in the calendar. 
Action 1: LL will put future meeting dates in calendars.

Presentation by Amy Watson, Principal Research Officer, Open Government on Guidance for paying participant expenses and compensating for time

AW talked through the research paper that was recently published by the Scottish Government to support those who make decisions about paying expenses and compensating people for time involved in research and participatory activity. 

This guidance has been produced primarily with adults in mind. The presentation covered the key principles to support decision making.
Section 8 covers engaging with children and young people and appropriate forms of recognition. The guidance suggests that readers should aim to design research and engagements that provide a range of types of recognition:
•    a clear feedback loop and demonstration to participants that they have made a difference
•    ensuring participants have a high quality experience
•    fun and rewarding methods like gamification and opportunities to socialise and meet new people
•    financial recognition
•    accreditation or similar formal recognition that could have educational or other benefits, for example a Participative Democracy Certificate

AW confirmed that this guidance was produced in partnership with colleagues across SG and will be updated in a rolling basis. 

Q & A

There was a question about whether parents would be informed/impacted, if a child or young person received a payment.
In terms of tax on page 18, a clarification was sought in relation to when a tax exemption applies. AW confirmed this applies if its for research participatory work.
A question was asked on whether there is a working group that can provide advice. AW confirmed there is interest in a consistent approach and she would consider setting up a group, if it would be helpful for next year’s guidance update. AP from Children’s Hearings Scotland expressed an interest in further discussions especially around payroll questions and levels of engagement and pay. Similarly NM from Scottish Social Services Council and TM from Audit Scotland would also be interested in participating in a working group and wish to be kept updated on any changes or clarifications to the guidance. 
A question was asked on whether HMRC is willing to offer a threshold. AW said there needs to be some clarity from HMRC. However, SG research colleagues are comfortable with assurances from HMRC.
Concerns about risk of fairness were raised when people are being paid via two different methods i.e. cash or vouchers. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) suggests paying everyone in vouchers to ensure fairness.
AW agreed to take any other questions in writing/email. 
Action 2: AA to keep members informed about any plans for a working group on paying participant expenses and compensating for time.

Discussion on participation and engagement paper 

AA shared the participation and engagement paper with members outlining its purpose: 
•    To summarise the challenges regulators, inspectorates and ombudsmen face in ensuring infants, children and young people can effectively participate in the work of the sector
•    To propose a series of questions to identify specific issues, the ways in which we have or plan to overcome them
•    To provide an opportunity to share good practice and assess where our improvement focus needs to be

AA asked members to review and answer the questions in the paper between May – July to provide intelligence on organisational approaches to participation and engagement. 
LK raised concerns about infants not really participating as effectively as they should and whether this could be better reflected in the questions. AA agreed we could modify questions to reflect the issue of how we include infants, children and young people in the first place, so that organisations can outline what mechanisms they put in place to ensure they’re listened to. Other members suggested that it would be useful to reflect the role of staff and the impact on them when it comes to participation and engagement and that this exercise should also explore what support staff receive.  
Action 3: AA will update questions on the back of comments received.

AOB 

AA is working on creating a page on the SG website for this group so minutes and other documents can be hosted in one place. This is still in progress and a link will be shared soon. 
The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 21st May 2024.

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