Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland
The next item of business is consideration of motion S3M-3922, in the name of Karen Whitefield, on behalf of the selection panel, on the announcement of the nomination for the Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland.
I speak to the motion in my name, on behalf of the selection panel that was established under our standing orders, to invite members to agree that Tam Baillie should be nominated to Her Majesty as the Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland. The selection panel was chaired by the Presiding Officer. The other members were Michael Matheson, Christina McKelvie, Cathy Peattie, Elizabeth Smith and Margaret Smith.
Although the Parliament is not subject to the code of practice on ministerial appointments to public bodies, we follow the guidelines to ensure that best practice is observed. On behalf of the panel, I thank Louise Rose, the independent assessor who oversaw the process and who has provided the Parliament with a validation certificate that confirms that it complied with good practice.
We received 22 applications and shortlisted five candidates for interview. It is worth saying that any of the five candidates whom we interviewed would have made an excellent choice for children's commissioner and that each of them would have brought their own experience and energy to the job. Given the nature of the post, in addition to being formally interviewed by the panel, the candidates had to interact with children and young people. On behalf of the panel, I would very much like to thank the children and young people who travelled from all over Scotland to assist us with the selection process, in which they played an important part. It was valuable to see how the candidates interacted and engaged with young people. In addition, the young people asked their own questions, which it is fair to say were some of the most thought-provoking and challenging questions that the candidates faced.
Members will be aware that the Parliament has established the Review of SPCB Supported Bodies Committee. Given that that review is on-going, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body determined that the appointment would be for a period of two years and that reappointment for a further year would be possible.
The candidate whom the panel wished to nominate, Tam Baillie, is currently the director of policy for Barnardo's Scotland, where he has worked since 2003. He has worked as a manager and practitioner with children and young people for 30 years, working primarily with young offenders, young people in or leaving care, and young homeless people. He has worked in both the statutory and voluntary sectors. He has extensive experience of Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament processes and recently made key contributions in the fields of child poverty and early years developments. He is the chair of the Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights.
On a personal note, I am convinced that Tam will be an enthusiastic, energetic and independent advocate for children and young people in Scotland. His track record speaks for itself. I know that the panel is looking forward to seeing him fulfil some of the commitments that he made during the interview on developing innovative ways to engage with young people through the use of new technologies and Scotland's music and cultural scene—we have not forgotten about them. I am sure that he even mentioned something about using "River City"; we will see about that.
The general function of the Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland is to safeguard the rights of children and young people, and I believe that Tam Baillie will do that admirably.
I think that the Parliament would wish to record its thanks to Kathleen Marshall, who was appointed as the first Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland in 2004, for all her work.
It gives me great pleasure to move the motion. I move,
That the Parliament nominates Tam Baillie to Her Majesty The Queen for appointment as the Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland.
I thank Kathleen Marshall for the job that she has done. She has served this Parliament and Scotland's children very well, and I wish her all the best in her future plans. I believe that she will be a really hard act to follow. She leaves the organisation in great shape for Tam Baillie to take over.
I thank and commend everyone who was involved in the nomination process, including Louise Rose, the clerks and all those who helped the selection panel. In particular, I thank the kids who were involved, who were absolutely fantastic. I would be a bit feart to be interviewed by some of them, who asked pretty probing questions.
I thank all the other applicants. The standard was extremely high. As my colleague Karen Whitefield said, any of the five shortlisted candidates could have made a fantastic commissioner. All five of them are engaged in practice with children and young people. It is good that there are amazing people working in that field.
Tam Baillie's career is exemplary, as Karen Whitefield mentioned. He has worked in social work and the voluntary sector for a number of years. Recently, I kicked off the social work champion project for the next year. I was honoured to be one of Scotland's first social work champions, but in my opinion, with all his front-line experience, Tam Baillie is a true champion of children's rights.
Tam Baillie's commitment is demonstrated by his long career in children's services, and by his involvement in a cause that is close to my heart, which is the incorporation into law of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. His job is a virtuous one, and it is one in which he will be required to make us politicians feel uncomfortable. That is a good thing. We will work well together, and I welcome Tam Baillie to the post and look forward to the work that we will do together. I wish him and his organisation all the best.
I support the motion in the name of Karen Whitefield.
I am pleased to support the motion, which welcomes Mr Tam Baillie to the post of children's commissioner. Mr Baillie's considerable experience working as a practitioner with children and young people—most recently as a director of policy at Barnado's Scotland and as chair of the Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights—will bring enormous benefit.
The role of the children's commissioner is a difficult job at the best of times, but especially at a time when children, parents and all those who care for children face many challenges, particularly in relation to child protection issues and the neglect and abuse that affect far too many young people. The horrific cases of neglect that have featured widely in the press and, I am sure, in the public mindset over recent months have emphasised the need to ensure that we work together to provide the best possible security for children in Scotland, particularly our most vulnerable children. We simply cannot afford to get that wrong.
Likewise, the children's commissioner inevitably has to work hard to articulate legislation that bridges three different Parliaments. That is no easy task, and nor is dealing with the public scepticism about the job, especially when people feel that there is already too much intervention, which challenges the individual responsibility of parents and children.
With those not inconsiderable challenges in mind, I once again wish Mr Baillie very well in his new role and wish Kathleen Marshall all the best for her retirement.
As Elizabeth Smith said, being the children's commissioner is not an easy job at the best of times. For a number of reasons, this might not be the best of times when it comes to the issue of the children's commissioner.
Being the champion for children and young people is an important job. It is essential to remind adults of children's rights and why they are so important. I pay tribute to Kathleen Marshall on the job that she has done in her time as commissioner. She certainly made us all feel slightly uncomfortable at times. That should be part of the job description for the role.
I have no hesitation in recommending that Tam Baillie should be Kathleen Marshall's replacement. Tam's experience speaks for itself. He has relevant experience from a 20-year career working directly with children and young people, among them the most vulnerable and deprived children in our country, including young offenders, young homeless people and those leaving care. He has sharp-end experience of the issues that face our most vulnerable young people.
Crucially, however, Tam Baillie also has experience of networking in the sector. He is chair of the Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights, which he undertakes in a voluntary capacity while doing his main day job as director of policy at Barnado's Scotland. Over the period of the Parliament's existence, he has given evidence to parliamentary committees and he has probably engaged with each and every one of us, as well as with ministers. He is a well-kent face around Holyrood and, most important, he is well kent for caring passionately for children and young people, and being an advocate for them. He is well respected in the field and I am sure that he will be able to work in partnership with the voluntary sector, with the Parliament and with Government to help improve the lives of Scotland's children.
The panel was left in no doubt about Tam Baillie's passion for children's rights and his determination to tackle the problems that our children face. As members have said, not only did Tam Baillie and the other candidates have to convince us MSPs that they could do the job, they had to convince a group of children and young people, which would probably have taxed most of us. It was clear from the interaction between the children and Tam Baillie that he was at ease in their company. That is an important part of the commissioner's job.
I thank the children and young people who took part in the process. Some of them took time out of school to take part, which I am sure was a big sacrifice. I hope that they enjoyed the experience. I am not sure whether I am meant to do this, but I looked back at the comments from the children about Tam Baillie, one of which was, "He knows his stuff." We probably cannot ask for more than that from a commissioner.
Another of the children said, "Make him commissioner now." I would go along with that. Tam Baillie will be an excellent commissioner, and he will be a strong, enthusiastic and able advocate for Scotland's children and young people.
I wish to place formally on record the congratulations of the Labour Party to Tam Baillie on his appointment as commissioner for young people. We all know Tam from his work with Barnardo's over the years, and we have come to admire his many qualities—his enthusiasm, drive, energy and sense of humour. He will need all those qualities as he engages with us as commissioner.
The Parliament has prioritised children and young people over the past 10 years, and I believe that we will continue to do so. I hope that we will establish a constructive working relationship with Mr Baillie, as we did with his predecessor, Kathleen Marshall. I wish her very well in her next moves, and I wish Tam Baillie very well in his.
Thank you. That concludes our brief debate on motion S3M-3922, on behalf of the selection panel, on the announcement of the nomination for the Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland.