Programme for Government 2026-31: Impact Assessments

Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment Template

Brief Summary

Type of Proposal:

Decision of a strategic nature relating to the rights and wellbeing of children.

Name the proposal, and describe its overall aims and intended purpose.

The Programme for Government (PfG) is a 5-year plan for this parliamentary term that outlines the actions that the Scottish Government intends to take to meet the four priorities determined by the First Minister:

• Eradicating Child Poverty
• Growing the Economy
• Tackling the Climate Emergency
• Delivering a Stronger NHS and Public Services

These priorities span across portfolios and contain actions from several directorates within Scottish Government and its Executive Agencies.

This CRWIA provides a high-level overview and assesses the potential impacts arising from the PfG in its entirety. The delivery of, and approaches to achieve delivery of individual commitments within the PfG should be informed by additional CRWIAs as required under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 (UNCRC Act).

Start date of proposal’s development: May 2026

Start date of CRWIA process: July 2026

With reference given to the requirements of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, which aspects of the proposal are relevant to/impact upon children’s rights?

The PfG provides a clear articulation of the Scottish Government’s priorities focusing on actions that we will deliver, with our partners, over the next 5 years. The combined set of commitments under each of the four priorities within the PfG are relevant to, and will impact upon, children’s rights. In particular we expect to see positive impacts on access to the rights in UNCRC Articles 2, 3, 6, 9, 12, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 39 and 40.

Please provide a summary of the evidence gathered which will be used to inform your decision-making and the content of the proposal

Directors General from across Scottish Government were asked to provide an assessment of impacts of the proposed PfG commitments, including whether and how they would impact upon children’s rights and wellbeing. The evidence provided for these actions relied on a mix of evidence from research and reports, feedback from stakeholders and consultation with children and young people and CRWIA’s for continuing commitments.

Within the Health and Care portfolio, the impact of PfG commitments on children and young people was considered using evidence from existing CRWIAs, policy development processes, stakeholder engagement, population health evidence and service user experience. Particular consideration was given to commitments affecting access to healthcare, mental health support, neurodevelopmental services, Hospital at Home, whole family support, maternity and miscarriage care, care experienced young people and patient safety initiatives. Evidence consistently indicates that improving access to timely, person-centred and community-based healthcare can support children’s health, wellbeing participation and development.

The PfG contains a commitment to invest £205 million to continue delivering winter heating payments to pensioners, families with disabled children and the households struggling the most. The CRWIA completed in relation to the Winter Heating Assistance for Children and Young People (Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 found that the extension of the CWHA eligibility criteria had the potential to have positive impacts for severely disabled young people, providing financial assistance to a further 3,900 young people and their families to cope with the additional pressures caused by winter fuel bills. It identified positive impacts against Articles 2, 3, 12, 23 and 26.

The PfG contains a commitment to continue the Anti-Racism in Education Programme. A CRWIA undertaken to advance this programme was published in February 2026 and identified positive impacts in relation to the best interests of the child (Article 3), respect for the views of the child (Article 12), the right to education (Article 28), the right to protection from all forms of violence and discrimination (Articles 2 and 19) and the right to an education which develops respect for human rights and prepares children for responsible life in a free society (Article 29).

Children and young people in Scotland have the opportunity to tell us what areas they would like to see prioritised by the Scottish Government. Their 'calls to action' are presented to the Scottish Cabinet by members of the Children's Parliament and Scottish Youth Parliament.

The calls to action for the 2026-2028 cycle are still being finalised but the Scottish Youth Parliament are considering: housing; transport; education/financial education; and youth-specific spaces. The Children's Parliament are considering: discrimination; cost of living; social media/internet safety; and community safety. We consider there to be good alignment between some of these priorities of children and young people and the priorities of the Scottish Government, to support children, parents and schools to deal with online safety challenges, to tackle and prevent youth violence, and to widen access to further and higher education for young people.

Further to the evidence described at ‘3’ have you identified any 'gaps' in evidence which may prevent determination of impact? If yes, please provide an explanation of how they will be addressed

There were no gaps in evidence that prevented the determination of overall impact of the PfG. However, as decisions are made about the delivery of the commitments that are relevant to children’s rights, further engagement with children and young people will be carried out and, as the details of the proposals develop, individual CRWIAs will be required in relation to relevant strategic decisions and proposed legislation at the appropriate time.

Analysis of Evidence

The actions set out in the PfG are likely to have a positive impact on a number of children’s rights as set out below.

Growing the Economy

We expect the actions set out within this chapter to:

• Remove barriers to, and reduce inequalities within, the labour market.
• Contribute to a growing and prosperous economy.
• Protect and enhance the culture sector for the benefit of residents and visitors.
• Empower regions to grow economically, to progress increased job creation and economic output.

Eradicating Child Poverty

We expect actions set out within this chapter have a positive impact on children’s access to their rights by:

• Improving housing outcomes by increasing affordable homes and strengthening tenants’ rights.
• Investing in skills and employment opportunities.
• Expanding childcare provision to support parental employment.
• Reducing everyday living costs for families, including transport and food essentials.

Tackling the Climate Emergency

We expect actions set out within this chapter to have a positive impact on children’s access to their rights by:

• Investing in tackling climate change which will pave the way for long term certainty, stability and quality of life for this and future generations.

There are likely to be some indirect positive impacts as a result of growth in community energy and reduction of energy bill costs by demand flexibility - both of which may benefit households and children.

Delivering a Stronger NHS and Public Services

We expect actions set out within this chapter to have a positive impact on children’s access to their rights by:

• Putting in place responses to support children and young people with emergency mental health needs or who have thoughts of taking their own life.
• Improving educational outcomes for children and young people.
• Take forward commitments to improve health outcomes, including supporting preventative care.
• Supporting young people who are transitioning from care.
• Tackling and preventing youth violence.
• Simplifying the public sector landscape to improve service delivery.

What changes (if any) have been made to the proposal as a result of this assessment?

The content of the draft PfG was reviewed in conjunction with CRWIA requirements, both by individual Directors General and collectively. Monitoring and evaluation of existing policies will be carried out during policy implementation, with new evidence and adaptations considered, as necessary.