Children's Hearings Redesign Board minutes: September 2025

Attendees and apologies

Members

• Brian Taylor, Scottish Government, Co-Chair 
• Neil Hunter, Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration
• Elliot Jackson, Children’s Hearings Scotland
• Lindsey Byrne, Social Work Scotland
• Ben Farrugia,  Social Work Scotland
• Claire Gibson, Children’s Hearings Scotland
• Katy Lang, Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration
• DSU Craig Riddell, Police Scotland 

Officials 

• John Urquhart, COSLA 
• Melissa Parkinson, Scottish Government
• Susan Downes, Scottish Government 

Items and actions

Welcome and introductions

Brian opened the meeting by welcoming Katy Lang, Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, Detective Superintendent Craig Riddell, from Police Scotland and Claire Gibson, Children’s Hearings Scotland, and noted apologies. The Board agreed the minutes of the previous meeting held in June and agreed to their publication on the Children’s Hearings Redesign Board webpage.

Action - Secretariat to publish minutes from the previous meetings on the Children’s Hearings Redesign Board webpage.

Referrals workstream

Katy and Craig provided a presentation to Board members on the joint project between SCRA and Police Scotland, focusing on testing new approaches to referrals.

Key points from the presentation:

• In November 2024, a report was presented to the SCRA Programme Board outlining the project concept, objectives, and initial recommendations, looking at different areas across Scotland, what the barriers and challenges are at pre-referral stage. The project aims to look at early, effective, and proportionate interventions and what the different responses are (i.e. child protection response, referral pathway).
• In spring 2025 the project concept and necessary approvals were confirmed.
• Early 2025 there has been engagement with U Division (this includes 3 local authority areas – North, East and South Ayrshire) who were in advanced local discussions about introducing a Children’s Hearing Champion model in collaboration with the SCRA Ayrshire office.

• The scope has been defined across three Divisions (U - North, East and South Ayrshire, L- Argyll and West Dunbartonshire & Q - East Kilbride, Cambuslang and Rutherglen; Hamilton and Clydesdale; Monklands and Cumbernauld; and Motherwell, Wishaw and Bellshill.) to enable hypothesis testing and establish proof of concept.
• Full Project Group meetings will be held monthly, alternating between online and face-to-face formats.

• The project includes a Reporter being embedded in the Hub and Project Manager providing on-ground support at the Hub fortnightly.
• Weekly online stand-ups to maintain momentum and coordination.
• Discussions about what success looks like for each area, ensure there are plans to understand different patterns, issues, geography.
• Governance arrangements have been established to ensure oversight and accountability.
• Questionnaire issued internally to see what the experience and key issues are at present as this will help to draw out what the training would look like.

• Recruitment concluded for L and U Division reporters, in progress for Q Division reporter.
• Additional referral project activities currently active expand the initiatives in the wider referral landscape.
• Evaluation and learning activities will continue through March 2026 and beyond, with a clear need to engage further in the space of the multi-agency partnership.
• Ongoing collaboration will support the implementation of learning outcomes and continuous improvement.

Key discussions points from board members:

• Brian asked about review points and timescales, it was noted that these timescales are under constant review, however there are 6 monthly review points at present.
• It was noted that early multiagency conversations and involvement, particularly with social work are both helpful and vital to the success of the project. The referrals process is expected to take place prior to an interagency referral discussion (IRD).
• Elliot highlighted the importance of focusing on outcomes and avoiding drift or delay in the process. He emphasised the need for timely decision-making regarding whether a case should be referred, and what support or interventions are required.
• It was noted that contextual safeguarding plays an important role in the project, alongside the need for early and effective intervention. Understanding the different pathways available is considered helpful and essential in supporting children in a meaningful and impactful way.
• Katy highlighted the importance of securing involvement and commitment from other partners to ensure the project’s success. She noted the need to consider how this collaboration would work in practice at the local level, including engagement with Child Protection Committees and local area teams.
• Neil noted that the project supports a focus on each individual situation and child. He notes the importance of gathering relevant information to inform decision making. He highlighted that this is a shift toward a more relational system, moving away from a transactional system.
• Ben welcomed the focus on the process and emphasised the importance of ensuring all components work effectively together. He noted that it may be beneficial to include an East Coast example, acknowledging that regions may face different challenges and barriers. Additionally, he stressed the need for reassurance around resources and commitment and highlighted the importance of establishing robust local governance arrangements.

Update on work of the planning group and workstreams

Claire provided an update on each of the workstreams, key points for each workstream is noted below.

Planning and Preparing for Hearings Workstream

The group met on 18 August for the fourth time.  The group is working well together and making good progress, considering what preparation looks like for each of the participants in the hearing.  The next steps will be to:

• consider how can we tie preparation to culture in the hearings system.
• gather all our data on time/information/people/practice/environment.
• consider how to Re-designed guidance, resources and training will be built upon this understanding

Data and Information Workstream

The group met for the first time on 14 August, members agreed the PID and proposed terms of reference.  The group agreed to meet on a quarterly basis and a schedule of future meetings has been arranged.  

There was discussion regarding the remit of the group, with members noting that the current statement within the PID lacks clarity. It was suggested that the group should rework the remit to better define the focus of the workstream.

There was some discussion about what is practical and attainable to achieve within the timescales on all workstreams and what can be shared to improve decision making. The issue of resourcing was also raised during this conversation.

Action: Claire to provide this feedback to the group and request that the remit statement within the PID be refined to provide greater clarity.

Referrals Workstream

The group met on 2 September.  The learning leads are expecting to launch on the new learning hub hosted by SCRA in Autumn.  

Culture Workstream

This workstream aims to develop a set of principles and standards of practice, approach, and behaviour to be adopted by all participants across the Children’s Hearings System. The group will identify and address the factors that support the delivery of a positive culture and develop a plan to embed these agreed principles and standards across all involved agencies.

It was noted that culture is the golden thread running through all other workstreams. The principles and standards developed by this group will be expected to be upheld by all participants across the hearing system.

There was discussion around how to measure cultural change, including the potential to use this as a data set to track progress.

The group also discussed the importance of a dedicated focus on culture, to ensure a shared understanding of the roles and responsibilities of each partner involved in the system.

Action: Secretariat to include Culture as a dedicated agenda item for the next meeting.

Future Workstreams

Work is continuing on scoping out the 4 future workstreams Language, Communication and Grounds, Babies and Infants in the hearings system, Processes During the Hearing and After the Hearing. 

Workshop Session

The planning group agreed to hold a workshop session on 2 October 2025 in VQ.  The session will be an opportunity to bring together project leads and planning group members to discuss the individual workstreams and redesign more generally. The day will also dedicate time to consider the progress made towards the objectives identified in the individual PIDs, anticipated future activity across all current workstreams and beginning to develop a framework for evaluation of workstream activity. 

Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill

Brian provided an update on the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill.

Calls for Evidence responses to the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill are now published and available online - Published responses for Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill - Organisations, public bodies academic - Scottish Parliament - Citizen Space

The Committee heard evidence on 10 September from The Promise, Sheriff Mackie, CELCIS, and Clan Childlaw. The official transcript will be published shortly on the Scottish Parliament website.

Brian outlined that the Bill team is the central point of coordination for all queries and requests from the Committee on the bill. They are responsible for engaging with the appropriate stakeholders and officials to ensure a consistent and streamlined approach. The team is working to manage information flow and provide timely updates.

Brian then outlined that the current expectations are that Stage 1 will conclude in January, followed by Stage 2 in February and Stage 3 in March and will continue to keep the Board informed of any updates to this timeline.

Elliot mentioned the Ministerial round table and if there was anything that we would like to discuss or raise at this. BT confirmed that we would come back to him if there was anything.

Stakeholder engagement

Melissa provided an overview of the draft Stakeholder Engagement Plan, which includes a series of workshops focused on key themes.

Neil welcomed this approach, noting the value of meaningful engagement and the benefits it brings to the overall reform process.

Lindsey suggested the inclusion of Local Authority Social Work as a key stakeholder group, which was acknowledged and agreed by the board.

The Board endorsed the proposed engagement plan and agreed that Mel should continue to develop it further. Once a more detailed plan is available, board members will be invited to provide feedback. Members also expressed their willingness to participate in the planned stakeholder workshops.

Brian raised the importance of proactive publication of materials related to this work. He initiated a discussion on what documents and resources could be made available to stakeholders to support transparency and engagement. Group members were content with this approach and had no issues with sharing materials.

Action: Secretariat to provide further details of what progress updates and related materials (such as PIDs, dashboard reports etc.) that can be provided and discussed with stakeholders once the draft vision is finalised to support stakeholder engagement and communication around Redesign work outside of legislation.

Draft vision statement

Melissa provided an update on draft vision and confirmed she had discussed this with each and every child who provided some comments. Group members were content with the comments from Each and Every child and it was agreed that this can be further discussed with Gordon Main.

Action: Melissa to incorporate the feedback from Each and Every Child and engage with Gordon Main and others to develop this further.

Date of next meeting

It was proposed that the next meeting in November, could be hosted at the new Glasgow Hearing Centre. Members were supportive of this suggestion, subject to confirmation from Laura that the venue is suitable.

Action: Secretariat to check Laura’s availability for the next meeting to take place in Glasgow.

Any other business 

Ben raised concerns regarding the current timescales, specifically the assumption that all work will be completed by 2030. He highlighted the need for clarity around expectations and contingency planning should elements of the work be extended.

In response, Brian provided reassurance that 2030 is not a fixed endpoint, but rather a milestone, while there is an expectation of progress, it is understood that improvement and implementation is a phased process and will evolve beyond 2030 as needed. He emphasised a realistic approach to what can be achieved by then and acknowledged that implementation will take time.

It was suggested that messaging around Redesign could include elements of this as part of clearer communication.

Brian thanked Members for their participation and closed the meeting.