Guidance in relation to care experience 15 5 Guidance in relation to care experience (1) The Scottish Ministers must issue guidance for the purpose of promoting understanding, by public authorities and other persons exercising functions of a public nature, of— (a) care-experienced persons, and (b) the experiences that such persons may have had before and since becoming 20 care-experienced. (2) Guidance under subsection (1) may in particular promote best practice in— (a) identifying and communicating with persons who are or may be care-experienced, including in particular best practice in using language in a way that avoids stigmatising care experience, 25 (b) ensuring that the experiences and needs of persons who are or may be care-experienced are identified and taken account of in the planning and provision of public services, and (c) facilitating access by persons who are or may be care-experienced to public services. 30 (3) A public authority must— (a) have regard to guidance issued under subsection (1) when exercising the public authority’s functions in relation to persons who are or may be care-experienced, (b) where it exercises functions by entering into arrangements (contractual or otherwise) under which functions of a public nature will be exercised by a person other than 35 a public authority, ensure that the arrangements require the person to have regard to guidance issued under subsection (1) when exercising those functions in relation to persons who are or may be care-experienced. (4) A public authority must take such steps as it considers appropriate to make persons in relation to whom the authority exercises functions aware of guidance issued under 40 subsection (1). 5 Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill Part 1—Children’s care system Chapter 1—Support etc. for persons in or with experience of children’s care system (5) But a public authority exercising functions which relate to a particular description of care-experienced person specified in an enactment need comply with subsections (3) and (4) only to the extent that the public authority considers doing so is consistent with the proper exercise of those functions. 5 (6) The following persons are care-experienced for the purposes of this section— (a) a child who is or has at any time been— (i) looked after, (ii) subject to a kinship care order, (iii) cared for or otherwise supported in such circumstances as are specified in 10 the guidance, 1 (b) a person who was at any time when the person was a child— (i) looked after, (ii) subject to a kinship care order, (iii) cared for or otherwise supported in such circumstances as are specified in 15 the guidance. (7) In this section— “function” means, in relation a public authority, a function that it is within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament to confer on the authority, “public authority” means a person who is— 20 (a) a part of the Scottish Administration, or (b) a Scottish public authority with mixed functions or no reserved functions (within the meaning of the Scotland Act 1998). 6 Guidance under section 5: further provision (1) Before issuing guidance under section 5(1), the Scottish Ministers must consult— 25 (a) persons who are care-experienced persons for the purposes of section 5, (b) persons who may become such persons by virtue of the guidance to which the consultation relates, (c) such— (i) persons who represent the interests of persons mentioned in paragraphs (a) 30 and (b), and (ii) other persons, as the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate. (2) The Scottish Ministers must— (a) as soon as reasonably practicable after issuing guidance under section 5(1)— 35 (i) lay the guidance before the Scottish Parliament, and (ii) publish the guidance in such manner as they consider appropriate, and (b) take such steps as they consider appropriate to publicise the guidance. 6 Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill Part 1—Children’s care system Chapter 2—Provision of children’s care services (3) Guidance issued under section 5(1) may include different guidance in relation to different persons or for different purposes. (4) The Scottish Ministers may revise guidance issued under section 5(1) (and references in section 5 and this section to guidance are to be construed accordingly). 5 Interpretation 7 Interpretation In this Act— “child” means a person aged under 18, “kinship care order” has the meaning given by section 72 of the Children and 10 Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, 1 “looked after” is to be construed in accordance with sections 17(6) and 17A(2) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.