Programme for Government 2024 - 2025: child rights and wellbeing impact assessment

Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment Template

Introduction

1. Brief Summary (Guidance Section 2.3.2, pages 10-11).

Type of proposal

Applicable answer: A decision of a strategic nature relating to the rights and wellbeing of children

Name the proposal and describe its overall aims and intended purpose.

The Programme for Government 2024-2025 (PfG) is an outline of actions that the Scottish Government intends to take over the upcoming year to meet the four priorities determined by the First Minister and sets out an offer to the people of Scotland to improve upon the areas reflected by the priorities. The overall aim of the PfG is to present a suite of actions, that when taken collectively, will address each of the four priorities. These four priorities span across portfolios and therefore contain actions from a range of directorates within Scottish Government. The priorities and their aims are as follow:

Eradicating Child Poverty is the single greatest priority for the Scottish Government. The aim of this priority within the context of the PfG is to outline the actions that will impact on eradicating child poverty and addressing the key root causes of child poverty. The strong focus on eradicating child poverty should a support a range of rights within the UNCRC, including: the right to a standard of living adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development (Article 27); the right to the highest attainable standard of health (Article 24); the right to benefit from social security (Article 26).

Growing the Economy as a priority underpins each of the other priorities for Scottish Government in the upcoming year. Each of the priorities outlined within the PfG depends on adequate funding and will benefit from the input of the private, public and third sectors.

Tackling the Climate Emergency. The aim of this priority within the context of the PfG is to outline the actions that Scottish Government will take to address the climate emergency. Through direct engagement with children and young people and the Cabinet and Scottish Government Executive team, we know that children and young people consider that the climate emergency is one of the greatest threats to children’s rights globally.

Delivering High Quality and Efficient Public Services is a priority for the Scottish Government as our public services are fundamental in delivering the action that will be taken to eradicate child poverty, grow the economy, and tackle the climate emergency. In addition, the compatibility duty in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act makes it unlawful for public authorities to act incompatibly with the UNCRC requirements, as set out in the Act.

Start date of proposal’s development: 13 May 2024

Start date of CRWIA process: 26 July 2024

2. With reference given to the requirements of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, which aspects of the proposal are relevant to children’s rights? (Guidance Section 2.3.2, pages 11-13).

Each of the four strategic priorities in the PfG are relevant to the delivery of children’s rights. The combined set of commitments for each priority should help to give better or further effect to children’s rights.

3. Please provide a summary of the evidence gathered which will be used to inform your decision-making and the content of the proposal. (Guidance Section 2.3.2, pages 13-16).

An assessment was sought from policy teams leading on each commitment about the expected impact of the commitment on the rights and wellbeing of children and young people.

In addition, we considered the extent to which the various commitments aligned with the ‘calls to action’ that children and young people have presented to the Scottish Government at a strategic level. Since 2017, The Scottish Government has ensured that children and young people are heard at the highest levels of Government, in annual meetings between the Children’s Parliament, Scottish Youth Parliament, the Scottish Government Executive Team (the senior leaders of Government) and Cabinet (the First Minister, Deputy First Minister and all of the Cabinet Secretaries). This allows children and young people to highlight the issues that matter most to them, with the aim of improving policy and legislation development and implementation. The process involves the children and young people setting six ‘calls for action’ on which the Scottish Government will report directly to the children and young people. From this process we know that their key priorities for 2024 for government are: increasing mental health support and training; investing in and protecting youth work services; ending gender-based violence; climate crisis education; Vaping; and addressing bullying and mental health in schools.

As part of separate work, the Children and Young People’s Commissioner has engaged with children and young people across Scotland and reviewed evidence from research to create their plan for 2024 – 2028. The areas that the Children’s Commissioner identified as of key importance to children and young people are Poverty; Education; Mental Health; Discrimination, Climate Change and being involved in decisions that affect their lives.

The evidence highlighted above presents a rounded view of the priorities of children and young people in Scotland. The Scottish Government is committed to upholding the rights and wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland and taking their views into consideration when setting strategic priorities for the organisation.

4. Further to the evidence described at ‘3’ have you identified any 'gaps' in evidence which may prevent determination of impact? If yes, please provide an explanation of how they will be addressed (Guidance Section 2.3.2, page 16).

There were no gaps in evidence that prevented the determination of overall impact of the PfG. However, as decisions are made about the delivery of the commitments that are relevant to children’s rights, further engagement with children and young people should be carried out and, as the details of the proposals develop, individual CRWIAs will be required in relation to relevant strategic decisions and proposed legislation at the appropriate time.

5. Analysis of Evidence (Guidance Section 2.3.2, page 17).

It is clear that there is an alignment between the calls to action from children and young people and the commitments in the PfG.

Increasing Mental Health Training and Support

• Commitment in PfG: Support almost 1 million children and families with support for physical and mental health, through an investment in our third sector of £18m a year.
• Commitment in PfG: Support Boards to meet the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services waiting times standard nationally and clear backlogs by December 2025 – backed by £120 million funding for NHS Boards to support continued improvements across a range of mental health services and treatments.
• Commitment in PfG: Ensure that people who are in crisis or distress can connect with services that meet their needs, strengthening collaboration between Police Scotland, Mental Health Services, and other partners to better manage demand.
• Commitment in PfG: Support families affected by drug and alcohol use – including early intervention for young people at risk, reducing stigma, integrating mental health support, and funding specialist residential rehabilitation services for families and perinatal women.

Invest in and protect youth work services

• Commitment in PfG: Invest £650,000 in community-based youth work, focussed on reaching young people outside the classroom and supporting access to education, training and employment.

End gender based violence

• Commitment in PfG: Misogyny - The Bill will implement recommendations of the Working Group chaired by Baroness Helena Kennedy, informed by the subsequent Scottish Government consultation, to create new offences related to misogynistic conduct, providing new powers to hold to account perpetrators who harm women and reinforce barriers to an equal society.

Vaping

• Commitment in PfG: Collaborate across the four nations on banning the sale of single use vapes and the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which will progressively increase the age at which people can buy cigarettes and restrict the promotion of vapes – working to ensure that Scotland is tobacco free by 2034.

Climate Crisis Education

• Commitment in PfG: Launch the final four Community Climate Hubs by Autumn 2024 – ensuring every area in Scotland has access to one, helping empower people to act in their neighbourhoods.
• Commitment in PfG: Deliver commitments in our forthcoming National Adaptation Plan. This will include establishing new local partnerships, tailoring approaches to adaptation to the needs of local areas, providing new sector-specific support for businesses on climate resilience, developing improvements to SEPA’s 24/7 flood warning service, and providing practical support for the development of climate-resilient local development plans.

Bullying and Mental Health in Schools

• Commitment in PfG: Support local authorities to boost school standards – with a focus on attendance, behaviour, and the curriculum, including:
• Reporting annually on progress towards delivery of the Relationships and Behaviour in Schools Joint Action Plan 2024-27.
• An enhanced package of support for education authorities and schools to reduce absence and improve attendance

Additionally, there is alignment within the PfG to the priorities identified through the work carried out by the Children and Young People’s Commissioner.

Poverty

• Commitment in PfG: Investing nearly £600 million in affordable housing in 2024-25. The majority of this will be directed at boosting social housing supply – keeping rents lower and benefitting around 140,000 children in poverty each year.
• Commitment in PfG: Accelerating progress in closing the poverty-related attainment gap, through the Scottish Attainment Challenge, and by intensifying action to deal with the ongoing impacts of the pandemic on children’s progress.
• Commitment in PfG: Work with local authorities to increase take up of funded early learning and childcare for eligible 2-year-olds, with a particular focus on boosting take up among the families most at risk of poverty and areas with some of the lowest take up rates.
• Commitment in PfG: Ensure that national initiatives such as the Family Nurse Partnership are integrated into that approach – supporting young mothers at-risk of poverty to access and engage with wider services and support available.
• Commitment in PfG: Investing in innovative, local projects to tackle child poverty, through a second round of our Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund.

Education

• Commitment in PfG: Reform the education and skills funding system so it is easier to navigate and responsive to learners and skills priorities – breaking down silos and reducing bureaucracy – introducing a Bill to simplify the post-school funding body landscape.
• Commitment in PfG: Accelerating progress in closing the poverty-related attainment gap, through the Scottish Attainment Challenge, and by intensifying action to deal with the ongoing impacts of the pandemic on children’s progress.
• Commitment in PfG: Implementing the Curriculum Improvement Cycle, with work underway on maths and numeracy, led by the National Mathematics Specialist Adviser.
• Commitment in PfG: Progressing qualifications reform, and improving and diversifying our approach to assessment, including removing written exams from some practical subjects in 2025-26.
• Commitment in PfG: Continue work to improve access to higher education for students from the most socio-economically disadvantaged communities – towards our goal of 20% of all entrants being from the 20% most deprived communities by 2030.

Mental Health

• Commitment in PfG: Support almost 1 million children and families with support for physical and mental health, through an investment in our third sector of £18m a year.
• Commitment in PfG: Support Boards to meet the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services waiting times standard nationally and clear backlogs by December 2025 – backed by £120 million funding for NHS Boards to support continued improvements across a range of mental health services and treatments.
• Commitment in PfG: Ensure that people who are in crisis or distress can connect with services that meet their needs, strengthening collaboration between Police Scotland, Mental Health Services, and other partners to better manage demand.
• Commitment in PfG: Support families affected by drug and alcohol use – including early intervention for young people at risk, reducing stigma, integrating mental health support, and funding specialist residential rehabilitation services for families and perinatal women.

Discrimination

• Commitment in PfG: Seeking to strengthen implementation of human rights and advancing proposals around extended rights protections. We remain committed to legislation to incorporate international treaties into Scots law, developing proposals and engaging with stakeholders.
• Commitment in PfG: Delivering on the recommendation made by the First Minister’s National Advisory Council for Women and Girls (NACWG) to produce the first Annual Statement on Gender Policy Coherence.
• Commitment in PfG: Working with NACWG to identify the improvements we can take to ensure a whole-government commitment to tackling inequality.
• Commitment in PfG: Implementing our Equally Safe Delivery Plan that focuses actions to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls. This includes ensuring our response to violence against Minority Ethnic women and girls meets their needs.
• Commitment in PfG: Progressing our commitment to ending conversion practices in Scotland and work towards complementary approaches across the UK. We will prepare legislation for introduction to the Scottish Parliament should a UK-wide approach not be achievable.
• Commitment in PfG: Delivering our Disability Equality Plan – ensuring the voices of disabled people are at the centre of policy and decision making, including an annual Cabinet meeting ‘takeover’ to facilitate meaningful and credible engagement with disabled people.
• Commitment in PfG: Working with partners across the public and third sectors to embed anti-racism and advance the Race Equality Framework, including delivery of the Anti-Racism Observatory.
• Commitment in PfG: Delivering the New Scots Delivery Plan (2024-2026), working with COSLA and the Scottish Refugee Council to ensure Scotland maintains its international reputation as a welcoming nation for refugees and those seeking asylum.
• Commitment in PfG: Accelerating action to ensure that Human Rights and Equality remains forefront in all the government and public sector does. We will consult on and publish a framework to embed equality and human rights across the Scottish Government and the wider public sector.
• Commitment in PfG: Continuing to develop and embed social justice, rights, and equalities across education, through implementation of both our Learning for Sustainability Action Plan to 2030 and the recommendations of the Anti-Racism in Education Programme.

Climate Change

• Commitment in PfG: Taking on board the views of the Climate Change Committee, we will shortly bring forward legislation which will enable five-yearly carbon budgets to be set and delivered. Our next Climate Change Plan will then be finalised following advice on Carbon Budget levels from the Climate Change Committee.
• Commitment in PfG: Deliver commitments in our forthcoming National Adaptation Plan. This will include establishing new local partnerships, tailoring approaches to adaptation to the needs of local areas, providing new sector-specific support for businesses on climate resilience, developing improvements to SEPA’s 24/7 flood warning service, and providing practical support for the development of climate-resilient local development plans.

Children and young people being involved in decisions that affect their lives

• Commitment in PfG: Continue work to Keep the Promise by consulting on the next stages of reform of the children’s hearing system, future of foster care, and the support available to those moving on from care.
• Commitment in PfG: Work with communities to take forward the findings of the Democracy Matters national engagement exercise on the future of community decision-making, responding in detail to the national consultation on the future of community decision-making.

6. What changes (if any) have been made to the proposal as a result of this assessment? (Guidance Section 2.3.2, page 17)

No changes have been made to the PfG as result of this assessment. However, the approach to the delivery of commitments in the PfG should be informed by individual CRWIAs. There is a statutory requirement to undertake a CRWIA for:

• legislation (all Bills and Scottish Statutory Instruments (SSIs), excluding commencement SSIs), which bring an Act into force
• decisions of a strategic nature (including budgeting) relating to the rights and wellbeing of children and young people

Through implementation of existing policies, ongoing monitoring and evaluation will be carried out which will take on new evidence and adapt as needed.

Conclusion

7. As a result of the evidence gathered and analysed against all UNCRC requirements, what is the potential overall impact of this proposal on children’s rights? (Guidance Section 2.3.2, page 17):

Children’s Rights

Applicable answer(s): positive

8. If you have identified a positive impact on children’s rights, please describe below how the proposal will protect, respect, and fulfil children’s rights in Scotland. (Guidance Section 2.3.2, page 18).

Eradicating Child Poverty

The commitments in this chapter have the potential to strengthen access to the right to: housing support (Article 27); childcare services (18); access to nutritious food (24); health and health services (24); education (28); and adequate standard of living (27). Additionally, there is likely to be a positive impact on the right to access to social security (26), the protection of rights without discrimination (2), support for parents (18), and protection for those children and young people unable to live with their families (20). There is also likely to be a positive impact on giving due weight to the views of children (12), supporting disabled children (23), making education accessible (28), and accessing media information (17).

Article 18 – Right to appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities

Article 24 – Right to Health and Health Services

Article 26 – Right to Social Security

Article 27 – Right to an Adequate Standard of Living

Article 31 – Right to Leisure, Play and Culture

Growing the Economy

The commitments under this priority have the potential to have a positive impact on rights to: housing (Article 27); standards of living (27); the right to life, survival and development (6) and cultural participation (31). Additionally, there is likely to be a positive impact on access to rights without discrimination (2) and access to media information (17).

Article 2 – Right to Non-Discrimination

Article 6 – Right to Life, Survival and Development

Article 17 – Right to Access to Information from the Media

Article 27 – Right to an Adequate Standard of Living

Article 31 – Right to Leisure, Play and Culture

Tackling the Climate Emergency

The commitments within this priority have the potential for positive impact on the right to: health and physical wellbeing (Article 24); life, survival and development (6); adequate living standards (27); nutritious food (24). The commitments outlined are also likely to have a positive impact on improving financial circumstances for families (18); right to non-discrimination (2); access to information from the media (17); and ensuring safe access to natural spaces for children and young people in Scotland (31). Overall the commitments in this chapter promote access to the right to actions being taken in the best interests of children and young people (3).

Article 2 – Right to Non-Discrimination

Article 3 – Right to have the best interests of the child as a primary consideration

Article 6 – Right to Life, Survival and Development

Article 17 – Right to Access to Information from the Media

Article 24 – Right to Health and Health Services

Article 27 – Right to an Adequate Standard of Living

Article 31 – Right to Leisure, Play and Culture

Ensuring High Quality and Efficient Public Services

The commitments within this priority have the potential to strengthen access to the rights to: education (Article 28) and the goals of education (29); an adequate standard of living (27); juvenile justice (40); health and social care (24); and the right to life, survival, and development (6). Additionally there is likely to be a positive impact on the availability of health services (24); recovery from trauma (39); protection from drug abuse (33) and access to information from the media (17). Furthermore, there is the potential for positive impacts on the rights to: support for parents and carers (18); right to freedom of expression (13); protection from violence, abuse, and neglect (19); and access to review of care treatment (25).

Overall, commitments in this chapter promote access to the right to actions being taken in the best interests of children and young people (3)

Article 3 – Right to have the best interests of the child as a primary consideration

Article 6 – Right to Life, Survival and Development

Article 9 – The right not to be separated from parents unless it is in the child’s best interests

Article 13 – Right to Freedom of Expression

Article 17 – Right to Access to Information from the Media

Article 18 – Right to appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities

Article 19 – Right to Protection from Violence, Abuse and Neglect

Article 24 – Right to Health and Health Services

Article 25 – Right to Review of Treatment in Care

Article 27 – Right to an Adequate Standard of Living

Article 28 – Right to Education

Article 29 – Right to education that develops every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full, encourages the child’s respect for human rights, as well as respect for their parents, their own and other cultures, and the environment.

Article 33 – Right to Protection from Drug Abuse

Article 37 – Right to Protection from Inhumane Treatment and Detention

Article 39 – Right to Recovery from Trauma and Reintegration

Article 40 – Right for every child accused of breaking that law to be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child’s sense of dignity and worth, which reinforces the child’s respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of others and which takes into account the child’s age and the desirability of promoting the child’s reintegration and the child’s assuming a constructive role in society.

9. If a negative impact has been identified please describe below. Is there a risk this could potentially amount to an incompatibility? (Guidance Section 2.3.2, pages 18-19).

N/A – No negative impact has been identified. However, the approach to the delivery of commitments in the PfG should be informed by individual CRWIAs. If any negative impacts are identified as the detail of the policies is developed, mitigations in relation to these should be considered by policy teams and recorded in the CRWIA.

Mitigation Record

What options have been considered to modify the proposal in order to mitigate negative impact or potential incompatibility issues?

Please summarise mitigation actions taken below

Issue or risk Identified per article/ Optional Protocol

N/A

Action Taken/ To Be Taken

N/A

Date action to be taken or was taken

N/A

10. As a result of the evidence gathered and analysed against all wellbeing indicators, will the proposal contribute to the wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland? (Guidance Section 2.3.2, pages 20-22).

Applicable answer: yes

We have mapped the UNCRC articles to the Wellbeing Indicators and, in doing so, identified how each priority area will contribute to the wellbeing of children and young people.

Eradicating Child Poverty

From our analysis of the rights that will be supported by each of the commitments, we can see that the commitments set out to progress the Eradicating Child Poverty priority will support children and young people’s wellbeing by contributing to the following indicators: Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active and Included

Growing the Economy

From our analysis of the rights that will be supported by each of the commitments, we can see that the commitments set out to progress the Growing the Economy priority will support children and young people’s wellbeing by contributing to the following indicators: Nurtured and Respected.

Tackling the Climate Emergency

From our analysis of the rights that will be supported by each of the commitments, we can see that the commitments set out to progress the Tackling the Climate Emergency priority will support children and young people’s wellbeing by contributing to the following indicators: Healthy, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible and Included.

Ensuring High Quality and Efficient Public Services

From our analysis of the rights that will be supported by each of the commitments, we can see that the commitments set out to progress the Ensuring High Quality and Efficient Public Services priority will support children and young people’s wellbeing by contributing to the following indicators: Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Respected, Responsible and Included.

11. How will you communicate to children and young people the impact that the proposal will have on their rights? (Guidance Section 2.3.2, page 22)

A copy of this CRWIA will be published on Gov.scot in due course along with associated evidence and impact records. Care has been taken to use plain English in the drafting of this CRWIA so that it published in an accessible format.

Post PfG publication, we will liaise with relevant policy teams to ensure that children and young people who engaged with the Scottish Government and highlighted their priorities are made aware of the CRWIA.

Post Assessment Review and sign-off

12. Planning for the review of impact on children’s rights and wellbeing (Guidance Section 2.3.2, pages 22).

Ongoing monitoring of the impact on children’s rights of the various commitments in the PfG will be undertaken by policy teams responsible for their delivery, with an overview of plans for this set out in individual CRWIAs.

Sign off (Guidance Section 2.3.2, pages 22-23).

Policy Lead Signature & Date of Sign Off: Kal Roderick, 2 September 2024

Deputy Director Signature & Date of Sign Off:

Director Signature & Date of Sign Off: Lisa McGuinness 3 September 2024

Date CRWIA team first contacted: 12 July 2024