Mandatory Reporting Task and Finish Group minutes: May 2026

Attendees and apologies

Chair 

• Dr Ariane Critchley, University of Stirling  

Group members in attendance 

• Alastair McAlpine, Chief Statistician, Scottish Government  
• Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES) 
• Child Protection Unit Officials and Professional Advisors, Scottish Government 
• Children First 
• Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) 
• Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) 
• Child Protection Committees Scotland 
• Children's and Young People's Centre for Justice (CYCJ) 
• Education Scotland 
• Lucy Faithfull Foundation Scotland 
• National Social Work Agency 
• Police Scotland 
• Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) 
• Scottish Nursing Leadership for Child Protection (SNLCP) 
• Scottish Children’s Reporter’s Administration (SCRA) 
• Social Work Scotland 

Apologies 

• Centre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection (CELCIS) 
• Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) 
• Society of Personnel and Development Scotland (SPDS) 
• Edinburgh Women’s Aid 

Secretariat 

• Child Protection Unit, Scottish Government 
   

Items and actions

Welcome, introductions and apologies 

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and noted apologies.  

Manifestos update 

The Chair set out relevant manifesto commitments for group members and noted that the meeting was taking place on the day of the election which meant that the outcome was not yet known. The group will continue to explore the question of mandatory reporting robustly over the coming months and conclude with recommendations that set out the best approaches to protecting children in Scotland.  

Discussion on workplan 

The Chair presented the proposed workplan and highlighted areas of focussed discussion, report drafting and consultation with wider organisations, experts, and interested parties. This will include consultation with adult survivors and young people and families with current awareness of the child protection system. 

The Chair invited group members to express an interest in contributing to the pieces of the work which will be progressed between group meetings.   

Group members discussed the draft workplan and noted that consensus around the aim(s) of the group would help to focus discussions. Members noted that key aims are to ensure that instances of abuse or neglect are being identified at the earliest opportunity and that children and young people receive appropriate responses. Through discussion and careful consideration the group will consider what is necessary in order to protect children and provide appropriate responses across the child protection system.  

The group noted the complexity of the considerations around mandatory reporting and the possibility of unintended consequences. The next meeting will explore improvements that could strengthen the responses to abuse and neglect within the current system. Subsequent meetings will focus on the specific aspects of a mandatory reporting duty, engagement with relevant workforces, interested parties, survivors and those with current experience of the child protection system.  

Update from the data subgroup 

The chair noted that she had met with the Chairs of the other subgroups of the National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group: the Workforce Learning and Development Subgroup and CSAE Data Short Life Working Group, in order to ensure there is no duplication and to identify areas to work together. The Workforce group are leading and coordinating evidence-informed recommendations that strengthen workforce training, learning, and development on CSAE in Scotland by bringing together expert, practitioner, and survivor-informed perspectives. The Data group are focused on the coordination and oversight of activity to improve CSAE data in order to support the understanding of the scale and nature of CSAE in Scotland.  

The Chair introduced Alastair McAlpine, Chief Statistician, Scottish Government and chair of the data subgroup.  

Alastair noted that it was helpful to hear the group discussion during the meeting, noted the parallels with the data work, and noted that the subgroup he chairs have agreed that data in this area requires strengthening and clarification.  

Alastair explained the three workstreams within the data subgroup: analysis of available data on CSAE, use of data to support prevention, and early intervention and improvement of data capture going forward. He noted areas of work which are of relevance to the mandatory reporting group. Alastair expressed a willingness to attend further sessions where that would be helpful.  

Next steps and close 

The Secretariat will share the agenda for the in-person meeting and the programme of dates for upcoming meetings.  

Actions 

• Members to volunteer to contribute to any elements of the workplan 
• Secretariat to send a poll for dates/locations of future meetings