The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) (Amendment) Order 2024 Impact Assessments

3. Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment

Disclaimer

This draft document is an initial assessment of the impact of The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) (Amendment) Order 2024 and Scottish Government will continue to review and update this document where required during the parliamentary decision making process. Any future iterations will reflect an increased understanding of these impacts as the amount of data and research available continues to grow.

This impact assessment should be read in conjunction with the Equality Impact Assessment and the Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment.

Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment

3.1 Introduction

3.1.1 Brief Summary (Guidance Section 3.2, page 20).

Type of proposal: SSI

Name the proposal, and describe its overall aims and intended purpose.

The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) (Amendment) Order 2024

The 2024 SSI amendments being made have arisen from the monitoring of implementation of the Short-Term Lets Licensing Scheme in 2022 and 2023, and listening to feedback from stakeholders. The amendments aim to clarify existing provisions, or introduce new powers to ensure the scheme runs effectively. See section 2 for a summary breakdown of provisions.

Start date of proposal’s development: 30 October 2023

Start date of CRWIA process: 13 March 2024

3.1.2 With reference given to the requirements of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, which aspects of the proposal are relevant to children’s rights? (Guidance Section 3.2, pages 20-22).

Foster Arrangements – The Amendment Order also clarifies that foster arrangements will not require a short-term let licence.

The Amendment Order clarifies that a foster child has the same meaning as it does for the Foster Children (Scotland) Act 1984. This has been included to clarify that these children are to be treated as if part of a foster carer’s immediate family even if the placement is short-term and the accommodation is not the foster child’s main residence. The foster carers are remunerated for looking after these children and in this sense there could be confusion about whether this constitutes commercial consideration. This amendment provides legal certainty that this is not considered a commercial consideration for the purposes of short-term let licensing and clarifies foster carers are excluded from the requirement to have a short-term let licence. Therefore this aspect clarifies the existing practise as opposed to bringing in a change.

3.1.3 Please provide a summary of the evidence gathered which will be used to inform your decision-making and the content of the proposal. (Guidance Section 3.2, pages 22-25).

This arose from a licensing authority query seeking clarity on short-term or respite accommodations for foster caring. The measure seeks to clarify the existing policy position rather than implement changes making the exemption clear.

3.1.4 Further to the evidence described at ‘3.1.3’ 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 (Guidance Section 3.2, page 26).

N/A

3.1.5 Analysis of Evidence (Guidance Section 3.2, page 26).

N/A, the accommodation remains available to children irrespective of short-term let legislation.

3.1.6 What changes (if any) have been made to the proposal as a result of this assessment? (Guidance Section 3.2, page 26)

N/A

3.2 Conclusion

3.2.1 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? (Guidance Section 3.2, pages 26-27):

No impact

3.2.2 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. (Guidance Section 3.2, pages 27-28).

N/A - No impact

3.2.3 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 - No impact

3.2.4 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? (Guidance Section 3.2, pages 29-30).

N/A

If yes, please provide and explanation below:

N/A

3.2.5 How will you communicate to children and young people the impact that the proposal will have on their rights? (Guidance Section 3.2, page 31)

The CRWIA will be published on the legislation.gov.uk website and so will be in the public domain for those wishing to access it. We have in so far as possible written the CRWIA in language that is accessible so the reader can understand its content and potential impact/ no impact of the regulations.

3.3 Post Assessment Review and sign-off

3.3.1 Planning for the review of impact on children’s rights and wellbeing (Guidance Section 3.2, pages 31).

N/A. Should the regulations be reviewed through implementation and if new information comes to light, this will be assessed for any potential impact on children and young people. However, this is not anticipated due to the nature of the regulations.

3.3.2 Sign off (Guidance Section 3.2, pages 31-32).

Policy Lead Signature & Date of Sign Off: Jamie Graham – 01/08/24

Deputy Director Signature & Date of Sign Off: Lauren McNamara – 12/08/24

Date CRWIA team first contacted: 30/07/24

Confirmation of engagement with SGLD: 07/08/24