PE1838: Regulation of non-statutory child advocacy services
Petition summary
Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to ensure that non-statutory child advocacy services are properly regulated to ensure competence, transparency and accountability.
Petitioner: Martin Baker and Katherine Bailey
Status: Closed
Date published: 04 November 2020
Click here for the full petition
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee Consideration
Committee Meetings
13 January 2021: The Committee agreed to write to the Minister for Community Safety. The Committee also agreed to write to key stakeholders including the Law Society of Scotland, the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, Who Cares? Scotland and Inclusion Scotland.
Official Report of Meeting 13 January 2021
10 March 2021: The Committee agreed to continue this petition and include it in its legacy paper for its successor Committee, along with a suggestion to write to the relevant Minister to ask whether they will undertake the work necessary to introduce legislation to regulate non-statutory child advocacy services.
Official Report of Meeting 10 March 2021
8 September: The Committee agreed to write to the Minister for Community Safety.
Official Report of Meeting 8 September 2021
17 November 2021: The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders on the basis that the creation of a new section 100A to the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 will provide that the Scottish Ministers must make such provision as they consider necessary and sufficient to ensure that all children concerned in proceedings in which the court is considering making an order under section 11 of the 1995 Act [on matters such as child contact and residence] have access to appropriate child advocacy services; The Minister for Community Safety has stated that she is not in a position at this stage to commit to a consultation on the regulation of non-statutory child advocacy services; the Committee has considered views from key stakeholders on the action called for in the petition.
Official report of Meeting 17 November
Written Submissions
Read any written submissions received before May 2021 on our old site
Written submissions received after May 2021 are below:
PE1838/N: Minister for Community Safety submission of 8 October 2021 (, ) posted 11 October 2021
PE1838/O: Petitioner submission of 8 November 2021 (, ) posted 10 November 2021