Best Start Grant: children's rights and wellbeing impact assessment

Children and young people's views and experiences

In the Children's Parliament report What Kind of Scotland?, ^[13] children define the kind of Scotland they want to live in. Poverty is identified as the most important barrier to a good life. Some say they worry that their family does not have enough money to buy what they need. They know this is stressful for adults. Children discussed the numerous ways that poverty could be alleviated for families across Scotland, including recommendations for life at home, at school and in the community.

During the consultation we commissioned the Children's Parliament to seek children's views on the BSG, who should be able to get one and what the money should be used for. These views were published in A better start in life ^[14] and have been taken into account during policy development. The children's ideas on how the money could be spent will be used in communications.

A policy discussion was held with a group of young parents at Fife Gingerbread and a meeting with Young Scot. User testing has been carried out with young parents at Fife Gingerbread and TD1 Youth Hub to gather views on the application process and wider service.