Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill: 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?

The public consultation on the proposals ran for 12 weeks (15 November 2021 to 7 February 2022). The consultation sought views on a number of proposals and questions relating to the legislation,

The independent analysis of the consultation responses was published on 25 March 2022. The analysis can be viewed and downloaded at: Bail and release from custody arrangements: consultation analysis - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). Responses, where permissions have been given to do so, have also been published on the Citizen Space hub: Bail and release from custody arrangements in Scotland - Scottish Government - Citizen Space (consult.gov.scot).

The Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice, Youth Justice Voices, the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, Barnardo’s Scotland, the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland and the National Youth Justice Advisory Group all provided evidence during the public consultation.

Alongside the public consultation, the Bill team conducted several online stakeholder presentations to provide further detail on the proposals and receive initial feedback. The Bill team also engaged with the Children’s Commissioners Office whilst developing the legislation.

As outlined above, the Bill does not contain provisions that specifically impact on CYP. It is clear, however, the Bill is likely to impact generally on CYP where they are going through a particular part of the justice system. e.g. if accused of an offence. Unfortunately it was not possible to publish easy-read versions of the consultation documents or more proactively gather the of views of children, young people and young adults who have experience of bail and release.