Tackling child poverty delivery plan 2022-2026 - annex 8: children's rights and wellbeing impact assessment

6. How have you consulted with relevant stakeholders, including involving children and young people in the development of the policy/measure?

A targeted consultation was conducted between September and December 2021, gathering feedback from community based and national third sector organisations, local authorities, health boards, COSLA, and the Scottish Parliament, in line with the requirements of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017.

In partnership with The Poverty Alliance, we consulted people with experience of living on a low income. We also conducted deep dive sessions with gender, minority ethnic, and disability stakeholders.

The Scottish Government engaged with a range of organisations representing

children's interests, as well as consulting children and young people themselves (UNCRC 12). Children's Neighbourhoods Scotland contributed feedback from participatory research with 746 children and young people (across 10 schools) who discussed their priorities for wellbeing and enablers/barriers to achieving their goals.

Stakeholder consultation highlighted key areas of focus for the Plan and the actions needed to create change. 11 themes emerged from the consultation and each is addressed directly in the Plan:

1. supporting priority families (across all policy action, including addressing stigma and discrimination, and taking targeted action to reach priority families)

2. income from employment, including structural economy issues

3. childcare

4. transport

5. income from social security and benefits in kind, both the value and eligibility for these and process of navigating support systems

6. whole family support, covering practical, emotional and financial support

7. partnership working and funding

8. place based approaches

9. housing and homelessness

10. health, including mental health

11. education

The stakeholders consulted on the Plan include:

• Access to Childcare Fund
• Active Life Club
• Amina Muslim Women's Resource Centre
• Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Sector Organisations (CEMVO) Scotland
• Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland
• Children & Young People's Centre for Justice
• Children and Young People' Commissioner
• Children in Scotland
• Children's Neighbourhoods Scotland
• Close the Gap
• Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER)
• COSLA
• Dundee International Women's Centre
• Cryreians
• East Ayrshire Children's Services Wellbeing Model
• Edinburgh City Council Energy Saving Trust
• Engender
• Equate Scotland
• Falkirk Council
• Family Fund Scottish Partnership
• Fife Centre for Equalities
• Flexibility Works
• Glasgow Centre for Population Health
• Glasgow Community Food Network CIC
• Glasgow Disability Alliance
• Inclusion Scotland
• Joseph Rowntree Foundation
• Multi-Cultural Family Base
• NHS Dumfries and Galloway
• NHS East Ayrshire GIRFREC Group
• NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
• North Ayrshire Council
• One Parent Families Scotland
• Outside the Box
• Parenting Across Scotland
• Perth and Kinross Council
• Poverty Alliance (and through them, 25 community and voluntary organisations and 68 people with direct and recent experience of living on a low income)
• Poverty Inequality Commission
• Poverty Truth Community
• Public Health Scotland
• Save the Children
• Scottish Borders Council
• Scottish Federation of Housing Associations
• Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit, Glasgow Caledonian University
• Scottish Women's Aid
• Scottish Women's Convention
• Scottish Youth Parliament
• Sikh Sanjog
• Standard Life Foundation (Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde, the Poverty Evaluation and Research Unit at Manchester Metropolitan University and the Poverty Alliance)
• STEP
• Step Change Debt Charity
• Stirling Council
• West of Scotland Racial Equality Council