United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC): Child Rights Regulation and Improvement Action Group minutes: October 2024

Attendees and apologies

Aqeel Ahmed (Chair), Scottish Government - AA
Gita Sharkey, Scottish Government - GS
Ezhilarasi Mahadevan, Scottish Government - EM 
Helen Dawson, Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland - HM 
Lisa Kirkbride, Care Inspectorate - LK
Aileen Nicol, Care Inspectorate - AK
Linda Mckenna, Scottish Housing Regulator - LM
Joanna Smith (on behalf of Claire McGuire), NHS Education for Scotland  - JS
Stephen Bermingham, Children’s Hearing Scotland - SB
Nina Miller, Audit Scotland - NM
Tricia Meldrum, Audit Scotland - TM
Neil MacLeod, The Scottish Social Service Council - NM
Matt McDonald, Member of Scottish Youth Parliament - MM
Marcus Fluker, Member of Scottish Youth Parliament - MF
Beau Johnston, Member of Scottish Youth Parliament - BJ
Tamsin Gold, Member of Scottish Youth Parliament - TG

Apologies
Andrew Dyce, Education Scotland 
Sharon Brown, Education Scotland 
Craig Naylor, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Scotland 
Lyndsey Saki, Scottish Government  

Items and actions

Welcome and apologies 

•    AA invited everyone to introduce themselves.  AA explained these meetings aim to 1) provide updates on ongoing efforts to support the implementation of children’s rights in Scotland and 2) support members to take a children’s human rights approach

Scottish Government update

•    Statutory guidance for Part 2 and Part 3 (section 18) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 (UNCRC Act) have been published
•    An information pack was previously distributed to authorities listed in Section 19 of the UNCRC Act. The Children’s Rights Unit will update this pack soon based on ongoing discussions with various bodies
•    A UNCRC programme update was shared recently with organisations on our distribution list. If anyone who would like to has not received these documents, they should email UNCRCIncorporation@gov.scot to be added to the distribution list
•    An event focusing on children’s rights and public finance, organised by the Improvement Service and the Observatory for Children’s Rights, will take place in November. It will be held in person, but a readout and accompanying report will be shared afterward for those unable to attend

Reflections on the participation and engagement exercise

•    AA thanked members for their responses so far to the intelligence gathering exercise on their organisation’s approach to engaging with children and young people. Members discussed the unique role regulators had in implementing a children’s human rights approach given the influence they can have on their respective sectors
•    Members felt it was important to explore the unique role of regulators in this space given they do not engage as closely with children and young people as other services would
•    Members agreed to support the development of a statement or framework document to establish what the role of regulators is in supporting the implementation of a children’s human rights approach in their respective sectors
Action: AA to draft a paper to be shared with members for input

Presentation by the Scottish Youth Parliament on the ‘Right Way’ project supporting public authorities in understanding how best to implement Article 12 of the UNCRC with young people 

•    AA invited Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYPs) to present their ‘Right Way’ Project, which focuses on implementing Article 12 of the UNCRC
•    MSYPs shared the resources they have developed to support public authorities to ensure young people are involved in decision-making through meaningful participation and engagement approaches
•    Attendees asked various questions about remuneration, participation, effective feedback processes and the unique role of regulators and how they can implement some of the learning from the ‘Right Way’ project
•    MSYPs emphasised that participation should not be hindered by budget constraints and alternative forms of recognition other than financial remuneration can be effective for engaging with young people
•    MSYPs and attendees agreed that regulators have a role in influencing good practices among their respective sector
•    Attendees asked about specific resources to support meaningful engagement with young people who find it challenging to communicate, in particular those with disabilities, asylum seekers and refugees and those who feel “furthest away” from participation opportunities. MSYPs pointed to various tools that could help and emphasised the importance of working with expert organisations like youth groups to support good engagement and participation
•    MSYPs spoke of the need to avoid tokenism, by ensuring young people are meaningfully engaged and involved in key decisions. It is also important young people’s contributions are valued. Feedback can be a useful tool to encourage long term engagement and trust
•    Attendees agreed that “over-consultation” should be avoided but emphasised the need to explore what data and information gaps exist, for example, in particular about groups of children and young people whose rights are at risk, to ensure any consultation is purposeful. Members noted that they hold valuable insights from young people as a result of their regulatory and inspection functions, ensuring they have a good sense of what information exists and where the gaps are. This can be useful for informing services that they support within their remit

AOB

•    AA informed the group that a shared group folder is now available for members to add useful resources. It will also support drafting and reviewing resources such as the draft note/framework document on the role of regulators

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 10th 2024.