Children (Scotland) Act 2020 - section 23(1) and section 24(1): sixth report on Scottish Ministers' duties

Pilot of mandatory meetings on alternatives to court

12. The Scottish Ministers have not fulfilled their duty under section 24(1) of the 2020 Act to establish a pilot of mandatory meetings on alternatives to court.

13. Section 24(4) of the 2020 Act requires the Scottish Ministers if they have not fulfilled their duty under subsection (1) to explain why not and to state when they expect to fulfil it.

14. On why the duty has not been fulfilled, this has been due to business pressures elsewhere within the Justice portfolio and increasing pressures on Scottish Government resources more generally. The position therefore remains the same as stated in the report covering 1 October 2022 to 1 April 2023.

15. As part of this work, we are still to consider the following points in respect of the structure and format of the pilot:

• how many cases would be required for the pilot;
• how many facilitators will be needed;
• what training will be required for the facilitators;
• whether information meetings should be in-person, virtual or both;
• whether or not geographical locations need to be identified for the pilot (e.g. particular courts or sheriffdoms), or if they are virtual only, whether operating the pilot nationwide would be the best option;
• what information will be provided to parties who attend, including on costs and benefits of various forms of ADR;
• how long the pilot should last for;
• what resources will be needed by the pilot provider to coordinate the work; and
• how the pilot will be evaluated.

16. Once the structure and format have been established, the following additional work will also need to be carried out before the pilot can begin:

• Work to put in place a body to coordinate the pilot meetings.
• The training of facilitators and time for facilitators to prepare.
• The development of information for parties, including time to produce the information and seek views on it.
• The development of any secondary legislation.
• Any proposals to change court rules.

17. We intend to carry out further preparatory work on the pilot over the coming year. However, the pilot itself is unlikely to commence until at least 2025, though this will depend on the time required for some of the tasks listed above to come into effect (particularly any secondary legislation and changes to court rules).

Scottish Government

August 2024