On 16th July the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 came into force. This is a monumental piece of legislation that enshrines the UNCRC into Scots law and introduces new duties for public authorities and new avenues of redress for rights breaches.
As we celebrate this legislation coming into force, we must also take some time to reflect on the status of children’s rights in Scotland and ask ourselves what work still needs to be done.
Unfortunately, children in Scotland are still experiencing rights breaches across sectors.
On 9th July 2024 The Herald published an article by journalist Martin Williams titled “18,000 Scottish children don’t have a place to call home”. The full article can be read here: https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-herald-1130/20240709/281483576597150
The article revealed a surge in the number of Scottish children declared homeless last year, with more than 160 dying in housing limbo in Glasgow alone. An investigation revealed that 50 Scottish children become homeless every day.
The statistics highlighted in the article are devastating and present a stark juxtaposition to the statement “Scotland is the best place in the world to grow up”.
How can we, as a country, call ourselves champions of children’s rights when thousands of children do not have access to basic necessities such as permanent shelter?
With clear rights breaches taking place, the next question is – what do we do about it? Being able to access fair and equitable justice for rights breaches and where the law has been broken is a cornerstone of the UNCRC. Having rights enshrined in law is an essential first step, but in order to truly be a rights respecting country children must be able to access justice when their rights are breached or are at risk of being breached.
Our organisation has received a record-breaking number of email enquiries this year from parents, carers, children and professionals asking us for advice surrounding rights breaches. We had a 150% rise in people seeking free legal advice over the past month alone. Often these enquiries will relate to going to court, with people telling us they cannot find a Legal Aid solicitor to take on their case, or that they do not qualify for Legal Aid but cannot afford the cost of a private solicitor. This leaves children and families in crisis, with nowhere to turn and no way of realising their rights.
We also receive many emails about rights breaches in respect of children with Additional Support Needs (specifically in the education sector), with parents telling us that complaints processes are lengthy and complex and that they are not listened to by decision makers.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child shares our concerns about a lack of access to justice in Scotland. They said children and young people should have “legal support and representation in addition to remedies, including by removing barriers faced by children in disadvantaged situations and expanding the types of support provided under the legal aid budget”.
Because of these concerning enquiries, we decided to host a Round Table on access to justice on the 25th of June 2024 to discuss what the problems are, understand the wider landscape and explore what the solutions could be. A wide number of fantastic organisations working across the children’s rights sector attended the event and our summary of the findings will soon be available. We call on the Scottish Government to work in partnership with us to address these serious and hugely concerning breaches of children’s rights and ensure that children’s rights are realised and they are complying with the UNCRC Act.
Access to justice must be a top priority for the Scottish Government with the implementation of the UNCRC Act, and we hope to work together with them to make access to justice a reality for all children and young people in Scotland.