Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill: child rights and wellbeing impact assessment
Child rights and wellbeing impact assessment (CRWIA) for the Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill.
CONCLUSION
As a result of the evidence gathered and analysed against all UNCRC requirements, what is the potential overall impact of this proposal on children’s rights?
The overall impact of the Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill is positive because of the positive impacts in relation to Article 31 and the available mitigations against potential negative impacts in relation to Articles 2, 24 and 30.
If you have identified a positive impact on children’s rights, please describe below how the proposal will protect, respect, and fulfil children’s rights in Scotland.
The potential positive impacts identified in the CRWIA published alongside the 2024 Act in relation to Article 31 still exists under the provisions of the Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill because councils will be able to use funds raised through any visitor levy scheme to enhance the visitor services and facilities which could support greater opportunities for children and young people in accessing and enjoying these services and facilities.
If a negative impact has been identified please describe it below. Is there a risk this could potentially amount to an incompatibility?
The potential negative impacts identified in the CRWIA published alongside the 2024 Act in relation to Articles 2, 24 and 30 still exist under the provisions of the Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill. The potential regressive nature of scheme using a fixed amount (or amounts) model may also have an impact in relation to Article 2 as this could disproportionately affect children and young people from lower income households who visit and stay overnight in areas where a council has chosen to introduce such a model. These potential impacts can be mitigated as set out above, including most importantly by individual councils choosing to set up a visitor levy scheme using the powers in the 2024 Act which will be amended by the Bill, who must comply with their own obligations under the UNCRC Act. As such, there is no risk that this could amount to an incompatibility under the UNCRC Act.