Child Welfare Reporter Working Group: terms of reference

To assess practice since the changes recommended by the previous working group, including:

• uptake and use of the instructions to reporters and guides published by the Scottish Government
• changes made to court rules, including whether reports are made available to the court by the deadline of three clear days
• any issues faced by new applicants to being added to the list and appointed in individual cases

To consider the future regulation of child welfare reporters under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, including:

• the experience and qualifications required
• the provision of training, including who might provide it, whether some training should be mandatory, and how much training reporters should undertake
• fees

To make recommendations to the Scottish Government.

Documents relating to the group will be owned by the Scottish Government and stored in the Scottish Government’s Electronic Record and Document Management system. Any communications or media will be the responsibility of the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government will publish papers and minutes from the group on its website.