Mandatory Reporting Task and Finish Group minutes: February 2026

Attendees and apologies

Chair

• Dr Ariane Critchley, University of Stirling 

Group members in attendance

• Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES)
• Centre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection (CELCIS)
• Child Protection Unit Officials and Professional Advisors, Scottish Government
• Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS)
• Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
• Child Protection Committees Scotland
• Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ)
• Education Scotland
• Lucy Faithfull Foundation Scotland
• National Social Work Agency
• Scottish Nursing Leadership for Child Protection (SNLCP)
• Scottish Children’s Reporter’s Administration (SCRA)
• Social Work Scotland

Apologies

• Children First
• Police Scotland
• Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH)
• Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)
• Society of Personnel and Development Scotland (SPDS)

Secretariat

• Child Protection Unit, Scottish Government

Items and actions

Welcome, introductions and apologies

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and each member was asked to briefly introduce themselves.

The Chair set out that the role of the group is to develop one or more preferred options for mandatory reporting in Scotland. These options could go on to form the basis of future public consultation. 

The Chair highlighted that this approach has been agreed by the new Chair of the National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group, Professor Alexis Jay, who will take a close interest in the Task and Finish Group’s work, as will Ministers. 

The Chair recognised the range of valuable expertise in the group and noted that individual meetings with all group members will take place over the coming month in order to gain an understanding of the professional context of group members and their contribution to this work. 

Background and context to the work of the Task and Finish group

Scottish Government briefly set out the background to the formation of the group, noting that the issue of mandatory reporting has been prominent since the publication of the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse for England and Wales, which made the introduction of mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse one of its key recommendations. This has been followed by a significant level of engagement on this issue particularly by adult survivors of child sexual abuse, as well as others, calling for the introduction of such a model in Scotland.

The National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group have discussed the issue of a statutory model for mandatory reporting of child abuse on several occasions. On 8 October the group agreed that further work was needed to consider mandatory reporting and to develop appropriate options for Scotland via a dedicated Mandatory Reporting Task and Finish group. On 25 November, the National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group received a further update on consideration of mandatory reporting, including a draft Terms of Reference and membership list for this group. 

The Mandatory Reporting Task and Finish Group will act as a subgroup of the National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group, reporting into it.

The Chair explained that this first meeting of the group is an opportunity to discuss how the group will progress its consideration of this complex area. She noted that the foundation of the group’s considerations will be the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, which requires consideration of how legislative and practice change upholds children’s rights, along with Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC), Scotland’s national approach to improving outcomes and supporting the wellbeing of Scotland’s children and young people.

The Chair proposed framing discussions around the UNCRC and GIRFEC to ensure a holistic consideration of the benefits and challenges presented by mandatory reporting: noting in particular the duty under UNCRC Article 19 to protect children from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and maltreatment. 

Terms of Reference

The Chair welcomed feedback from group members on the draft Terms of Reference. 

It was agreed that the group must be evidence-led in considering whether, and how, a mandatory reporting model would add value to child protection in Scotland. 

Members highlighted that there are many interdependencies to be considered during the course of the group’s work and that it is possible that the introduction of mandatory reporting would bring unintended consequences, which must be considered.

Members emphasised that workforce implications as well as appropriate response and recovery services represent important considerations. 

The Chair noted that the group is working towards updating the National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group on its considerations.

The Secretariat will update the Terms of Reference following members’ feedback, so that an updated version can be agreed.

Membership of the Group 

The Chair highlighted that the group must ensure that they hear and consider a broad range of views in order to develop potential options that meet the needs of children and complement the current policy, legislation and good practice in place. She proposed that there would be additional experts, bodies or organisations that the group may wish to engage with in a focused way for some sessions above and beyond the core group of attendees. 

The Chair welcomed thoughts from the members on this approach and invited them to identify perspectives or inputs that may be missing from the proposed membership. 

Members agreed that it would be crucial to hear from survivors of child sexual abuse, recognising that there is not one single survivor voice. The National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group will be considering its approach to engaging with survivors of abuse at its next meeting and it was agreed that this should inform the approach of this subgroup. In addition, it was noted that there has been work done to collate and reflect views of survivors around mandatory reporting and that this information should form part of the material considered by the group. 

The Chair highlighted that the voice of children and young people will be a significant consideration for the group. Members noted that they would want to ensure they were hearing views from children in a range of settings including those that are harder to reach. Members expanded on this point by noting that it would be important to understand recent experiences where young people had not been heard when they reported abuse so that the options developed address the current operational context. 

The members discussed the potential implications of mandatory reporting on adult support and protection, including in complex assessments around domestic abuse. 

Members agreed that there would be groups and organisations that would be important to involve as work progresses and potential options are developed. These groups could include further health professionals, trade unions, and Violence Against Women and Girls experts. Members recognised the need to continue to consider which groups and organisations they need to hear from during the course of their discussions. 

The Child Protection landscape in Scotland 

The Chair noted that a paper providing an overview of the current, relevant legal provisions and frameworks in Scotland had been circulated to attendees. The paper set out key legislation and guidance that members used as a basis for group discussion to identify the range of frameworks, policies and services that would be relevant to consideration of mandatory reporting in Scotland.

Members highlighted the need to consider mandatory reporting in the context of Bairns Hoose, the Scottish Child Interview Model (SCIM), The Promise, The National Trauma Transformation Programme, Inter-agency Referral Discussions (IRD) and The Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019.

Members agreed that mapping legislation is complex and that the paper demonstrated that child protection and reporting in Scotland is multilayered, so it will be helpful to consider how to strengthen existing processes. 

Aims for a mandatory reporting model in Scotland

Members discussed and agreed that child sexual abuse is under-reported when considering the estimated levels of abuse in Scotland, and that a purpose of mandatory reporting would therefore be to increase the number of children identified by our systems. 

Members noted that all options for mandatory reporting will require considerations around equipping the workforce to be more able to identify and report abuse. The Chair identified that the group members were collectively raising important considerations around the necessary conditions that would need to be in place in order for mandatory reporting to be effective. 

The group discussed that a fundamental aim should be to make the environment safer for children, and to make them less likely to be abused or harmed.

Members noted the need to be mindful of unintended consequences and to consider whether mandatory reporting would complement existing best practice in child protection in Scotland. They noted that there would need to be careful consideration of how it would interact with particular support services, such as helplines for children. 

Members agreed that there would need to be a whole systems approach to their considerations and to any options developed in order to ensure that prevention, workforce training, as well as appropriate responding to abuse (beyond identification), were foundations of the proposals. 

Ways of working

The Chair confirmed that meeting notes will be published on gov.scot. 

The Chair proposed that the next meeting take place in March. Members were in agreement with this and it was discussed that it may be beneficial to break up into  smaller groups for detailed consideration of specific issues. 

Next steps and close

The Chair will develop a draft workplan to discuss with members at the next meeting in March. An in-person session will be arranged for May.

Actions

• Chair to meet with Professor Alexis Jay to discuss the work of this subgroup 
• Chair to hold individual meetings with all members to understand their professional context and contribution to the work of the group
• Secretariat to update the Terms of Reference to reflect the discussions and share with members 
• Chair to develop a draft workplan to discuss at the next meeting
• Secretariat to maintain a log of groups and organisations that the group may wish to engage with at appropriate points during their considerations 
• Secretariat to send a poll for dates/locations of future meetings