Chamber and committees

We anticipate that the Scottish Consumer Taskforce will commence its work early in 2017. Further detail will be included in the consumer and competition principles and policy statement, due to be published in November 2016.

A final date has not yet been set for the publication of the consumer and competition principles and policy statement. However, work is progressing towards publication in November, as set out in the Programme for Government.

The Scottish Government held a Family Justice Modernisation Strategy summit on 17 March 2016. The outcomes of that summit will be published shortly. The Scottish Government is still considering how best to take the Strategy forward, and an announcement will be made in due course. A key part of the Strategy is about the voice of the child being heard in family cases. The Family Law Committee of the Scottish Civil Justice Council, which advises on court rules and procedures, is already taking forward work on the voice of the child in family actions, following a policy paper prepared by the Scottish Government. The Committee is also in the process of commissioning research on case management to inform its work. More details of the work of the Committee can be found on the Scottish Civil Justice Council's website.

This government have committed to include guidance on the use of restraint (for all children, including children with complex additional support needs), in the context of de-escalation as part of early intervention approaches in our refreshed guidance ‘Included, Engaged and Involved Part two: A Positive Approach to Preventing and Managing School Exclusions’.

This refreshed guidance will be published 2016-17.

In addition, ‘Holding Safely’ (updated 2013) Scottish Government guidance on the use of restraint in residential settings (which is applicable in schools and other establishments) is available.

We have committed to incorporating guidance on restraint in school settings in our refreshed guidance ‘Included, Engaged and Involved Part two: A Positive Approach to Preventing and Managing School Exclusions’. It will be clear that any incident where a decision is made to physically restrain a child or young person must be recorded and monitored. Details on how this should be undertaken should be included in a local authority’s policy on de-escalation, physical intervention and restraint.

The recording and monitoring of such incidents will help local authorities to monitor the effectiveness of their policy and practice and enable them to review and improve, where appropriate, their policy and also help identify professional learning needs.

This refreshed guidance will be published 2016-17. It will be clear that the use of physical intervention and physical restraint should be seen within the context of early intervention, positive relationships and behaviour and used only as a last resort, in line with the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child recommendations.

In other non-school settings further work has been done and is being undertaken in relation to restraint:

Scottish Government Guidance ‘Holding Safely’ on the use of restraint in residential settings (which is applicable in schools and other establishments) was updated in 2013.

Scottish Government has asked the Care Inspectorate to gather information regarding restraint practice in secure care during 2016-17 to inform improvement.

Scottish Government also published additional guidance for child protection for disabled children (2014). This applies to all settings, and states that inappropriate restraint, sanctions, humiliation, intimidation, verbal abuse, and having needs ignored; depending on the circumstances, may also be criminal offences, acts of gross misconduct and reportable to Police Scotland and relevant professional regulatory bodies.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.

The deployment of tasers is an operational matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland. The specific make and model available must be approved by the Home Secretary.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child published its Concluding Observations on the fifth periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on 9 June 2016. The Scottish Government is considering carefully the full range of conclusions and recommendations raised by the Committee and will engage with relevant stakeholders shortly on next steps. Actions following from the Concluding Observation will be taken forward in line with Ministers’ specific responsibilities in relation to children’s rights under Part 1 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014.

The current review of enterprise and skills is considering the support offered by our enterprise and skills agencies, including the Scottish Funding Council, with a view to ensuring that they provide the joined-up support that young people, universities, colleges, training providers, businesses and the workforce need. The review will report shortly.

Currently in Scotland, Electronic Monitoring is available as a Restriction of Liberty Order or for those released from prison on Home Detention Curfew. Electronic Monitoring is also used by the Parole Board as a condition of licence; as a Restricted Movement Requirement as part of Community Payback Order; as a Movement Restriction Condition for young people; or as a condition of a Drug Treatment and Testing Order. Support is dependent on the individual circumstances.

However, we know from international evidence that electronic monitoring can be a useful tool that can aid reducing reoffending when set within a wider package of support. The Scottish Government established an expert Working Group to look at Electronic Monitoring in Scotland to consider how best we take this forward specifically looking at: how electronic monitoring can be used at different points in the criminal justice system; what level of support can be provided in the community whilst maintaining public protection; and the opportunities that new technologies can provide.

The Working Group submitted their report to me at the start of the summer, and I plan to publish their report and recommendations shortly.