Child contact services - regulation: consultation

Annex I: Draft Islands Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA)

Step one – develop a clear understanding of your objective

• What are the objectives of the policy, strategy or service
• Do you need to consult?
• How are Islands identified for the purpose of the policy, strategy or service?
• What are the intended impacts / outcomes and how do these potentially differ in the islands
• Is the policy, strategy or service new?

The Children (Scotland) Act 2020 (the 2020 Act) gained Royal Assent on 1 October 2020. Section 10 of the 2020 Act gives the Scottish Ministers the power to set minimum standards for child contact centre accommodation and staff training by regulations. The 2020 Act also gives the Scottish Ministers the power to appoint a body to oversee regulation, which would include registering child contact services, carrying out inspections, reporting on inspections, and handling complaints.

The Scottish Government is now consulting on the proposed standards and on the monitoring and complaints processes.

Child contact centres play an important role in providing safe venues for conflict-free contact between children, parents, and other people in the child's life. Child contact centres receive referrals from the courts, solicitors and from parents themselves so that contact can be facilitated between a parent and child, generally where parents have separated or divorced or were never together.

Child contact centres offer a mixture of supported and supervised contact. Supported contact is where centres provide the facilities for the contact and record that the contact took place and not details of how it went. Supervised contact is where contact takes place in the constant presence of an independent person who observes and ensures the safety of those involved.

Child contact centres also provide a handover service where one parent brings the child to the centre to be collected by the other parent. This means that the parents do not have to see each other during the handover.

There are currently 45 child contact centres across Scotland that deal primarily with private law cases, e.g. where contact is ordered by the court or where there is a referral by a solicitors or where parents self-refer. Of these 45 centres, 42 are members of the Relationships Scotland (RS) network^[93] and there are three independent centres in Aberdeen^[94], Inverclyde^[95] and Glasgow^[96].

This consultation focusses on child contact centres that deal primarily with private law cases.

The Scottish Government is aware that local authorities facilitate child contact in public law cases involving looked after children. This type of child contact does not fall within the scope of the changes made by the 2020 Act and is not covered by this consultation. However, it is possible that in future centres regulated under the 2020 Act may continue to receive some referrals from local authorities.

The 2020 Act requires that when the courts are ordering contact at a child contact centre or when solicitors are referring their clients to these services, it must be to a regulated service. Unpublished figures from RS show that in 2018-19, 79% of referrals to their contact centres were from the courts or solicitors.

There is a currently a child contact service in Orkney which is a member of the RS network. However, there are currently no child contact centre services based in other island communities, such as the Western Isles or Shetland. The Scottish Government recognises that certain aspects of the proposed regulation of child contact services may have an impact on island communities more so than other communities.

Potential impacts

The Scottish Government understands that in island communities currently, if the court orders contact at a child contact centre and there is no permanent child contact centre in that community, the contact will either be facilitated on mainland Scotland or at another island centre, or the contact provider may facilitate the contact by using an outreach or "floating" service. This is where the provider uses an alternative premises from its usual child contact centre on an ad hoc basis.

This practice is not exclusively limited to island communities, as it may also be necessary in remote areas of mainland Scotland. However we think that island communities are more likely to be in need of such services.

The purpose of proposed regulations and standards is not to increase the current geographical spread of child contact services across Scotland. Therefore, the Scottish Government does not expect that these regulations will cause any impact on island communities in that particular regard. However, there is a risk that over-regulation could lead to the closure of some existing child contact services and reduce their availability. The potential impact of this could be seen in any area of Scotland, as well as in island communities.

However, the 2020 Act allows contact providers the flexibility to continue to provide "floating" services for families when necessary and allows for different standards of accommodation to be put in place for alternative premises, as opposed to those prescribed for a provider's usual premises.

The consultation will seek views on this, but it is the Scottish Government view that the same minimum standards that will apply to a provider's registered (or usual) premises should also apply to any alternative premises they use. This could mean if an island community uses a venue for a child contact centre only occasionally, the same standards will apply as would to a heavily used venue in a city centre. On the one hand, this could be seen an onerous for the islands where it may be more difficult to find other suitable premises in the locality. On the other hand, it is important to ensure that children and families in island communities enjoy the same standards at child contact centres as children and families on the mainland of Scotland.

It is also likely that different monitoring and inspection procedures will be required for alternative premises under the regulations. If a child contact service is using an alternative premises we would expect the provider to notify the person appointed to oversee regulation so that an inspection can be carried out before contact sessions are due to commence. There is usually a period of time between the referral being received and the contact sessions commencing.

However, there could be situations where alternative premises are required unexpectedly or with insufficient time for a pre-inspection. In these circumstances we consider that a child contact service could self-certify that the alternative premises meets the required standards and alert the regulator to the fact they have self-certified a venue. The regulator would then be able to inspect the venue retrospectively. This would allow contact to continue if there was an unexpected or emergency situation.

There is a risk that a child may have contact at alternative premises which does not meet the minimum standards. This may not be in the best interests of the child. In such cases we envisage that the regulator could report on this accordingly and would work with the provider, as part of any ongoing improvement plan, to avoid the situation arising again. If the contact provider continues to fail to meet the standards in this way, they could be removed from the register.

The impact of what is proposed here could be greater in island communities. Firstly, because there is a higher likelihood of alternative premises being required in these communities, and secondly, because it may take longer for an inspector to travel to an island community to carry out the inspection within the available time.

The regulation of child contact services will also establish minimum training standards for child contact centre staff and volunteers. There could be an additional burden on child contact services in island communities in terms of any additional time and costs that may be incurred where an individual has to travel to mainland Scotland to attend a training course. In some cases, it may be possible to undertake training on-line or virtually.

Step two – gather your date and identify your stakeholders

• What data is available about the current situation in the islands?
• Do you need to consult?
• How does any existing data differ between islands?
• Are there any existing design features or mitigations in place?

There is a currently a child contact centre service in Orkney, which is a member of the RS network. However there is currently no child contact centre services based in other island communities, such as the Western Isles or Shetland.

Figures from Relationships Scotland show that RS Orkney had 28 children and 18 adults use its centre in 2019-20. They offered 67 supported sessions, 136 supervised sessions and 53 handovers and they delivered 62 supported sessions, 120 supervised sessions and 49 handovers. In 2018-19 RS Orkney had 31 children and 29 adults use its centre. They offered 72 supported sessions, 86 supervised sessions and 25 handovers and delivered 59 supported sessions, 81 supervised sessions and 20 handovers.

There is no available information on the number of "floating" or outreach services child contact providers currently provide to island communities or on the number of alternative premises that providers have used in these communities.

This draft ICIA forms part of a public consultation which will run for 16 weeks. The consultation contains a section asking for comments specifically on the partial impact assessments, including this draft ICIA. The Scottish Government also intends to engage with stakeholders and individuals during the consultation period and to seek further evidence and information.

Step three - consultation

• Who do you need to consult with?
• How will you carry out your consultation and in what timescales?
• What questions will you ask when considering how to address island realities?
• What information has already been gathered through consultations
• what concerns have been raised previously by island communities?
• Is your consultation robust and meaningful and sufficient to comply with the Section 7 duty?

This draft ICIA forms part of a public consultation which will run for 16 weeks. The consultation contains a section asking for comments specifically on the partial impact assessments.

This draft ICIA and will be finalised following comments received from respondents and stakeholders during the consultation period.

The Scottish Government will seek views from a range of organisations, including:

• child contact service providers who provide services to island communities
• family lawyers who represent people in island communities
• organisations supporting children and young people
• organisations supporting parents

The Scottish Government also intends to seek views from individuals, including families from island communities who have used or are using child contact services.

The Scottish Government also intends to engage with stakeholders, groups and individuals directly during the consultation period by holding events and discussions groups (virtually where necessary).

There is a specific question in the consultation asking if the same minimum standards that apply to a provider's registered (or usual) premises should also apply to any alternative premises they use.

There is also a specific question in the consultation on asking if a contact centre provider should be able to self-certify a premises as appropriate in situations where alternative premises are required unexpectedly or in emergency.

During the consultation on review of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 in 2018, which informed the 2020 Act, the Scottish Government engaged with RS regarding the initial proposal to regulate child contact services. At that time RS said there was no concern that the centre in Orkney would have any difficulty in continuing its service once regulation is introduced since all RS contact services already operate to national policies and guidelines.

No issues regarding the regulation of child contact services were raised by island communities during that consultation.

In their written submission^[97] to the Scottish Parliament during the passage of the Children (Scotland) Bill (now the 2020 Act), RS raised concerns about the impact of any regulations and standards on their outreach services being able to continue as, for example, may currently be provided in island communities.

Under the 2020 Act provisions if a place is not registered as a child contact centre, it can still be used for providing regulated contact services on an ad hoc basis, if certain conditions (to be specified in the regulations) are met.. Any premises used on this basis must also meet minimum standards that will be set down in the regulations. It is envisaged that the same standards proposed for registered child contact centres should also apply for alternative premises.

No issues regarding the regulation of child contact services were raised by island communities during the passage of the Bill.

Step four - assessment

• Does your assessment identify any unique impacts on island communities?
• Does your assessment identify any potential barriers or wider impacts?
• How will you address these?

You must now determine whether in your opinion your policy, strategy or service is likely to have an effect on an island community which is significantly different from its effect on other communities (including other island communities).

If your answer is No to the above question, a full ICIA will NOT be required and you can proceed to Step Six.

If the answer is Yes, an ICIA must be prepared and you should proceed to Step 5

To form your opinion, the following questions should be considered:

• Does the evidence show different circumstances or different expectations or needs, or different experiences or outcomes (such as different levels of satisfaction, or different rates of participation)?
• Are these different effects likely?
• Are these effects significantly different?
• Could the effect amount to a disadvantage for an island community compared to the mainland or between island groups?

This draft ICIA forms part of a public consultation on the regulation of child contact services. The consultation contains a section asking for comments specifically on the draft impact assessments.

This draft ICIA and will be revised following assessment of the comments received from respondents and stakeholders during the consultation period.

Step five – preparing your ICIA

In Step Five, you should describe the likely significantly different effect of the policy, strategy or service

Assess the extent to which you consider that the policy, strategy or service can be developed or delivered in such a manner as to improve or mitigate, for island communities, the outcomes resulting from it.

Consider alternative delivery mechanisms and whether further consultation is required.

Describe how these alternative delivery mechanisms will improve or mitigate outcomes for island communities.

Identify resources required to improve or mitigate outcomes for island Communities

An ICIA by Scottish Ministers in regard to legislation must:

Describe the likely significantly different effect of the legislation,

assess the extent to which the Scottish Ministers consider that the legislation can be developed in such a manner as to improve or mitigate, for island communities, the outcomes resulting from the legislation, and

set out the financial implications of steps taken under this subsection to mitigate, for island communities, the outcomes resulting from the legislation.

This draft ICIA forms part of a public consultation on the regulation of child contact services. The consultation contains a section asking for comments specifically on the draft impact assessments.

This draft ICIA will be revised following assessment of the comments received from respondents and stakeholders during the consultation period.

Step six – making adjustments to your work

• Should delivery mechanisms/mitigations vary in different communities?
• Do you need to consult with island communities in respect of mechanisms or mitigations?
• Have island circumstances been factored into the evaluation process?
• Have any island-specific indicators/targets been identified that require monitoring?
• How will outcomes be measured on the islands?
• How has the policy, strategy or service affected island communities?
• How will lessons learned in this ICIA inform future policy making and service delivery?

This draft ICIA forms part of a public consultation on the regulation of child contact services. The consultation contains a section asking for comments specifically on the draft impact assessments.

This draft ICIA will be revised following assessment of the comments received from respondents and stakeholders during the consultation period.

Step seven – publishing your ICIA

• Have you presented your ICIA in an Easy Read format?
• Does it need to be presented in Gaelic or any other language?
• Where will you publish your ICIA and will relevant stakeholders be able to easily access it?
• Who will sign-off your final ICIA and why?

This draft ICIA forms part of a public consultation on the regulation of child contact services. The consultation contains a section asking for comments specifically on the draft impact assessments.

This draft ICIA will be revised following assessment of the comments received from respondents and stakeholders during the consultation period.

ICIA Completed by:

To be completed in final version of ICIA