Cross-Border Placements Regulations: child rights and wellbeing impact assessment

3. Will there be different impacts on different groups of children and young people?

The policy only relates to a very specific group of children and young people – namely those in another part of the UK (outside of Scotland) for whom the High Court in that jurisdiction grants a DOL order for a cross-border placement into residential child care in Scotland. Since the first of these cross-border DOL petitions in 2019, there have been a further 35 placements of children into residential care in Scotland. Of these, 35 placements have been from England and one from Wales.

The policy should have the same direct positive impacts (in terms of better regulating these cross-border DOL placements) for all those children on such placements.

It is possible that the policy could have some slightly differing indirect impacts on other groups of children already in care in Scotland. For example, it could have a positive impact on other children who are resident in the same residential care settings, who are subject to different legal measures. For example, if a better regulated cross-border DOL placement is less likely to break down, it reduces the risk of emergency staff time/resource being required (reducing the risk of negative impacts on other children).

The policy would also impact on the adults/authorities who are working with children in care in question, in terms of removing the need for placing authorities to petition the Court of Session for recognition of the DOL orders, but increasing the accountability and transparency around placement process they should follow.