Scottish Government high level action plan in response to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

1: Positive aspects

Thematic tags

Incorporation; Progressive Realisation; Children’s rights

Concluding Observation 5

The Committee welcomes the legislative, administrative and policy measures adopted by the State Party for the protection and progressive realization of economic, social and cultural rights, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 [...] and the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017.

Context

Our 2025-26 Programme for Government reinforces that eradicating child poverty is the single most important objective of this government and that we are committed to driving forward further progress. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 (UNCRC Act) came into force in July 2024 and directly incorporates the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into domestic law in Scotland within the limits of devolved competence. The UNCRC protects rights such as an adequate standard of living, health, and education for children. The act requires Scottish Ministers to consult with stakeholders, including children, to make a Children’s Rights Scheme, setting out the arrangements that are in place, or are to be put in place, to ensure that they comply with certain duties in the Act and to secure better or further effect of the rights of children.

We have launched several initiatives to support the enhancement of children’s rights. This includes a UNCRC implementation framework, statutory guidance to support public authorities in the implementation and operation of their duties under Part 2 and Part 3 (section 18) of the UNCRC Act, non-statutory guidance on taking a children’s human rights approach, participation guidance for professionals, parents, carers, and children and young people, the Children’s Rights Skills and Knowledge Framework, and a Children’s Rights Knowledge Hub.

The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 sets in statute income-based targets to significantly reduce child poverty by 2030-31. Under the act, Scottish Ministers are required to publish Tackling Child Poverty delivery plans outlining actions to drive progress towards the child poverty targets, and to publish annual reports on progress made. We have published two Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plans: 2018-22 and 2022-26. These delivery plans include action designed to influence the three key drivers of child poverty reduction: increasing income for work and earning; reducing household costs; and maximising income from social security and benefits in kind. The latest annual report was published in June 2025, covering the period 2024-25, with the annual report published in June 2022 summarising key action taken across 2018-22.

Key Actions

We laid the proposal for the first Children’s Rights Scheme before the Scottish Parliament on 20 November. This sets out the arrangements we have made – and propose to make – to ensure we comply with the compatibility duty under the UNCRC Act, and to secure better or further effect of children’s rights. A draft version of the scheme was published in October in accordance with the statutory duties in section 15 of the UNCRC Act.

Scottish Ministers will publish an annual progress report on the Children’s Rights Scheme which details actions taken during the previous year and outlines plans for advancing children’s rights during the next reporting period. We intend for the first of these reports to be laid before the Scottish Parliament in November 2026, to coincide as closely as possible with World Children’s Day, and establish this reporting cycle for subsequent reports.

As soon as practicable after 31 March 2026, all public authorities listed under section 19 of the UNCRC Act will prepare and submit their first reports to us on the actions they have taken in the reporting period to comply with the compatibility duty under the act and to secure better or further effect of the rights of children, and the actions they intend to take in the next reporting period.

We will complete and publish a Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment for every new piece of primary legislation, most Scottish Statutory Instruments, and certain decisions of a strategic nature that relate to the rights and wellbeing of children.

We will publish the final Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan by the end of March 2026 covering the period 2026-31.

We will publish an annual progress report on child poverty by the end of June 2026. This will cover the implementation of action across 2025-26 and the final year of Best Start, Bright Futures, our second Tackling Child Poverty delivery plans for 2018-22.