Fairer Futures Partnerships: children's rights and wellbeing impact assessment

Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) for Fairer Futures Partnerships

Disclaimer

This draft documentis an assessment of the likely effects of Fairer Futures Partnerships on the rights and wellbeing of children and Scottish Government will continue to review and update this document where required during the strategic decision-making process. Any future iterations will reflect an increased understanding of these impacts as the amount of evidence available continues to grow.

This impact assessment should be read in conjunction with the Fairer Futures Partnerships Impact Assessments: EQIA document.

Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment

Introduction

1. Brief Summary.

This is a decision of a strategic nature relating to the rights and wellbeing of children.

This CRWIA aims to provide a general overview of the impact these partnerships will have on children's rights and wellbeing. Given that the partnerships will be run in a different way in each local authority, it will be for local authorities to ensure that they comply with all legal obligations on them, including in relation to the UNCRC.

Fairer Futures Partnerships (FFP) are partnerships between local authorities and the Scottish Government set up to support families living in poverty. The partnerships all aim to reduce child poverty through public sector reform approaches, and each will test and adopt locally determined approaches based on local needs and assets.

FFP incorporates both ongoing work in the original Child Poverty Pathfinders of Dundee and Glasgow and the Family Wellbeing Partnership in Clackmannanshire, and also an expansion into further areas. The five additional partnerships currently planned are with Aberdeen City Council, East Ayrshire Council, North Ayrshire Council, Inverclyde Council and Perth and Kinross Council. We anticipate this being a rolling programme, and are planning to add additional local authorities over time. Partnerships will focus on engagement with Local Authority partners and trusted community organisations and utilise existing infrastructure to target families and communities with the greatest need. Each partnership operates and delivers outcomes desirable to their own locality and needs, in line with a place-based delivery approach.

In recognition of the Verity House agreement, all parties acknowledge the programme is focused on working collaboratively, testing and scaling opportunities for public sector reform with a view to transforming public services for the future and with an overarching aim of eradicating child poverty, in line with commitments in the Programme for Government.

Policy Aim

The Scottish Government's second Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan - Best Start, Bright Futures - set out a commitment to work collaboratively with partners to ensure that the child poverty support system works for the people who need it most.  

The Scottish Government's approach to Public Service Reform sets out an ambition for people's experience of services to be efficient, high quality and effective for all, with a focus on early intervention, positive relationships and partnership working to meet needs identified by citizens. Core to this approach is prioritising prevention, having services shaped around what matters to people and communities, and removing barriers to holistic support.  

Adopting a place-based approach to tackling child poverty through reform approaches recognises the different challenges experienced across Scotland, and offers a promising avenue for creating more equitable and resilient communities and transforming service delivery, while developing and sharing the learning which is key to whole system change. 

Fairer Futures Partnerships will establish collaborations with a number of local authorities with the aim to reduce child poverty through innovation, small scale tests and service reform, with a view to long term scale and sustainability of approach. There will be variation between the different partnerships based on local need but all the initiatives will be: 

• Relational and person led, not service driven

Placing people at the centre of the design and delivery of coherent and seamless services to support immediate needs with a view to lifting families out of poverty over the long term, we will ensure that those engaging in these initiatives will participate on a no detriment basis

• Pull not push

Using data and community engagement to proactively identify individuals and priority families who could benefit from the initiatives, we will listen to the views and needs of citizens and tailor support offers accordingly.

• Empowered by local decision makers

Recognising and building on existing strengths of local delivery and good practice across all sectors working in our communities, we will take responsibility for clear governance and evaluation of our initiatives.

• Focused on a No Wrong Door approach

Delivery of excellent public services at the point of need, avoiding repeat asks, duplication and complexity in provision, to ensure services are accessible and timely.

Who will it affect?

The Fairer Futures Partnerships are intended to support families experiencing or at risk of child poverty. It is likely to affect the six priority family types at greatest risk of experiencing child poverty:

• lone parent families
• minority ethnic families
• families with a disabled adult or child
• families with a younger mother (under 25)
• families with a child under one
• larger families (three or more children)

The policy aims to enable these families to access services they may not have otherwise, providing holistic support and lift them out of poverty over the long-term.

Each local area will use data and community engagement to target support to maximise impact on those families most in need. This means the specific numbers represented across each group will likely vary between initiatives. It is also acknowledged that in many cases families will represent multiple priority family types.

Also likely to be affected by the initiatives are local authorities, health boards and third sector delivery partners.

Start date of proposal's development: April 2024

Start date of CRWIA process: 1 August 2024

2. With reference given to the requirements of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 (Annex 1, deleted prior to publication), which aspects of the proposal are relevant to children's rights?

Tackling child poverty has direct and indirect impacts on children's rights. The impact is most specifically on Article 26 Social Security and Article 27 Adequate standard of living.

These interventions will also likely have an indirect impact on a range of others rights, in particular on Article 3 Best interests of the child; Article 6 Life, survival and development; Article 18 Parental responsibilities and state assistance; Article 24 Health and health services and Article 31 Leisure, play and culture.

3. Please provide a summary of the evidence gathered which will be used to inform your decision-making and the content of the proposal.

Tackling child poverty is a critical mission of the Scottish Government, cross-government work and stakeholder engagement is ongoing and the government's approach is informed by a wealth of evidence and statistics on child poverty.

In the development of the original Child Poverty Pathfinders, a range of evidence was used. This included the report Listening to the voices and views of children and young people: What's important for wellbeing and alleviating the impacts of poverty? This came out of Children's Neighbourhoods Scotland, which was a place-based programme working to improve outcomes for all children and young people living in neighbourhoods with high levels of poverty.

Evidence is continuously collected against a range of wellbeing indicators, which is helpful for understanding the impact of poverty on children - Children, young people and families outcomes framework - core wellbeing indicators: analysis.

An evidence review on what works in tackling child poverty sets out which approaches are most helpful.

Data shows that children in priority families are more likely to be in poverty and the Scottish Government has compiled evidence on each of the priority family groups.

4. Further to the evidence described at '3' have you identified any 'gaps' in evidence which may prevent determination of impact? If yes, please provide an explanation of how they will be addressed.

Formal evaluation of the earlier partnerships is not due to report until March 2025. The evaluation engages directly with the families who have been supported and it will feed into the development of the new partnerships, as well as informing policy in this area more generally. We have also committed to developing a shared approach to evaluation with the new partnerships as part of the expansion, this will include generating more evidence on the process of whole system change and the impact of systems change on families in receipt of support.

5. Analysis of Evidence.

The report Listening to the voices and views of children and young people: What's important for wellbeing and alleviating the impacts of poverty? sets out the concerns of children and young people living in poverty. Children and young people spoke about their own experiences, the experiences of friends, family, and other peers and what they know or have heard from other young people. Their top 5 priorities were being healthy, having a good standard of living, being able to learn, having good relationships and being safe. They also set out how all of these are impacted by income, and also by place, providing evidence directly from children for a place-based approach to poverty reduction.

As is set out in Children, young people and families outcomes framework - core wellbeing indicators: analysis children living in the 20% least deprived areas display substantially better outcomes than those in the 20% most deprived areas, and this pattern is consistent across all indicators relating to child development, attainment, mental health, and physical health.

The evidence review on what works in tackling child poverty highlights the need for a person-centred, holistic approach, within a framework of understanding structural barriers, in order to maximise the effectiveness of policies and avoid perpetuating stereotyping and stigma. Also, clear targeting strategies that identify and support priority families are crucial.

Data shows that children in priority families are more likely to be in poverty. The Scottish Government has compiled evidence on each of the priority family groups which details the unique structural barriers they are likely to face and emphasises the need for services which address these barriers.

The evidence outlined above demonstrates the link between poverty and poor outcomes for children, and the need to work to shift services to be more person-centred and holistic. The Fairer Futures Partnerships have been developed to respond to these issues.

The Fairer Futures Partnerships have developed over time and in consultation with each Local Authority in each partnership. The Child Poverty Pathfinders in Dundee and Glasgow and the Family Wellbeing Partnership in Clackmannanshire, as well as the work of the Social Innovation Partnership (SIP), have also provided a basis from which new partnerships have been established. These newer partnerships will be building from a 'need' which had already been identified locally and build on community assets and work which was already underway.

Formal evaluation of the earlier partnerships is ongoing, but management information and feedback from participants and service providers suggest positive change is being made and that transformation of services is ongoing. Early indications suggest services are becoming more integrated, and there is emerging evidence that this approach is more effective in supporting those in deep poverty and furthest away from the labour market.

6. What changes (if any) have been made to the proposal as a result of this assessment?

None – the proposal is a place based approach to delivering services that should have a directly positive impact on child's rights. The detail of each partnership will be determined by local authority partners, who will undertake their own impact assessments on the specifics related to implementation and strategic planning locally – this will be the appropriate mechanism for a more in-depth assessment of the impact on children's rights.

However, evaluation and learning will continue. We will support these partnerships through a national evaluation, which will include a workstream that supports partnerships to develop their own monitoring and evaluation plans and to gather reflection and learning on an ongoing basis. We will also support the sharing of learning across all Local Authorities through our national collaborative learning network and newly established Communities of Practice.

Conclusion

7. As a result of the evidence gathered and analysed against all UNCRC requirements, what is the potential overall impact of this proposal on children's rights?

Positive

8. If you have identified a positive impact on children's rights, please describe below how the proposal will protect, respect, and fulfil children's rights in Scotland.

Tackling child poverty has direct and indirect impacts on children's rights. The impact is most specifically on Article 26 Social Security and Article 27 Adequate standard of living, with many of the partnerships focussing on income maximisation. Incomes are maximised through a range of interventions, including by ensuring families access the social security they are entitled to, through helping people into employment and through providing access to childcare.

These interventions will also likely have a more indirect impact on a range of others rights, as the alleviation of poverty, and more directly having parents who are in work and having access to good quality childcare, all have a positive impact on children and are linked to more positive wellbeing and better outcomes in adult life. In particular, this will have a positive impact on Article 3 Best interests of the child; Article 6 Life, survival and development; Article 18 Parental responsibilities and state assistance; Article 24 Health and health services; Article 31 Leisure, play and culture.

9. If a negative impact has been identified please describe below. Is there a risk this could potentially amount to an incompatibility? (Guidance Section 3.2, pages 28-29).

N/A

Mitigation Record

What options have been considered to modify the proposal in order to mitigate negative impact or potential incompatibility issues?

Please summarise mitigation actions taken below

No negative impact identified – N/A

Issue or risk Identified per article/ Optional Protocol

N/A

Action Taken/ To Be Taken

N/A

Date action to be taken or was taken

N/A

10. As a result of the evidence gathered and analysed against all wellbeing indicators, will the proposal contribute to the wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland?

Yes

If yes, please provide and explanation below:

The partnerships will have an indirect impact on children's wellbeing. Children living in families who are no longer in poverty are more likely to be Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active and Included.

Safe – not growing up in poverty means children are more likely to feel secure and nurtured, and more likely to develop to their full potential.

Healthy – not growing up in poverty means that families and children are more likely to be able to make healthy choices, in relation to both food and exercise.

Achieving – the impact of poverty on attainment is well documented, and supported parents with increased confidence are more likely to be able to help children in their learning and in the development of skills and confidence at home. Access to high quality childcare, which many of the partnerships provide, is also likely to improve children's learning.

Nurtured – families who are no longer struggling with poverty are more likely to be able to provide children with a secure environment.

Active – children are more likely to be able to take part in recreational activities if their family is no longer in poverty.

Included – children who are no longer in poverty are more likely to be able to overcome inequalities.

11. How will you communicate to children and young people the impact that the proposal will have on their rights?

The ongoing evaluation of FFP engages directly with the families who have been supported, and views gathered during this process will feed back into the evolution of these partnerships.

Post Assessment Review and sign-off

12. Planning for the review of impact on children's rights and wellbeing.

As part of the decision-making process, plans for reviewing the impact on children's rights and wellbeing need to be developed.

• How will the impact of the proposal on children's rights and wellbeing be monitored?
• When will you review and update the CRWIA if required?

We have committed to the ongoing evaluation of existing partnerships as well as that of the new partnerships as part of the expansion. This will include monitoring the engagement of partnerships with families, including different family types, and the outcomes that are achieved for families as a result of their participation. Any learning from this evaluation will be used for continuous improvement and future policy development. We will update and review this CRWIA as and when necessary in light of this.

13. Sign off.

Policy Lead Signature & Date of Sign Off: MARIKEN SCHIPPER 1/9/2024

Deputy Director Signature & Date of Sign Off: HEATHER CAMPBELL and SIMON MAIR 5/9/2024

Date CRWIA team first contacted: 22/8/2024