Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessments documentation: FOI release

Information requested

You asked for copies of the Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessments (CRWIA) that informed the following:

• Updated School Transport Guidance (published on 8 December 2025)
• Draft National Islands Plan (laid in the Scottish Parliament on 8 December 2025)
• Regulation 12 Report: Published Proposals to Enable Better Performance of the PSED in Scotland 2025-29 (published on 8 Dec)
• National Improvement Framework 2026 and National Improvement Framework 2026 Improvement Plan (published on 9 December 2025)

Response

The CRWIA for the Updated School Transport Guidance (published on 8 December 2025) has been published. Under section 27(1) of FOISA, we are not required to provide information which is intended for future publication within 3 months of the request. Your request was made on 10 December 2025 and the CRWIA was published on 30 December 2025.

The Scottish Government does not have a final published CRWIA for the Draft National Islands Plan (laid in the Scottish Parliament on 8 December 2025). There is no requirement to publish a CRWIA in draft alongside a draft proposal such as this. As the draft National Islands Plan is currently in the 40 days laid in Parliament period and comments are being gathered to inform the final plan, these will be added to the CRWIA. Once the final version of the Plan is published the CRWIA will accompany it. The plan and CRWIA will bepublished within 3 months of your request. Under section 27(1) of FOISA, we are not required to provide information which is intended for future publication within 3 months of the request.

A Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) has not been undertaken for the Regulation 12 Report: Published Proposals to Enable Better Performance of the PSED. It was identified that a CRWIA would not be proportionate for the Regulation 12 Report as it only sets out ‘proposals’ to enable better performance of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) in Scotland between December 2025 to December 2029, in line with our statutory duty to publish proposals under Regulation 12 (1) of the Scottish Specific Duties. The report does not in itself seek to deliver specific policies or practices to be implemented but rather proposals that outline the Scottish Government’s direction of travel relating to PSED improvement activity over the next four years.

As part of this, we have committed to work with stakeholders including listed authorities and equality advocacy groups to develop a roadmap for delivery of specific actions proposed within the report. The delivery of these actions may lead to new or revised policies and projects which will then need to have their impacts assessed, as appropriate. This will include identifying and assessing whether there is any potential impact on children and young people’s rights and wellbeing.

The National Improvement documents cover a framework which brings together a number of different policies and measures relating to education – each of which will have its own CRWIA if required – and therefore no standalone CRWIA has been completed for the National Improvement Framework or the National Improvement Framework Improvement Plan.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.