Police Act 1997 and Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 Instruments - Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme: children's rights and wellbeing impact assessment

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

The policy will directly impact on 16 and 17 year old children who are living in households where an adult is volunteering to provide accommodation in their own home to displaced Ukrainians and their families.

The policy to carry out enhanced disclosures with suitability check on prospective sponsors, and any individuals aged over 16 who are residing in the same household, recognises that the Homes for Ukraine scheme is likely to predominantly involve women and children who are fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. The safeguarding needs of those individuals are considered to be paramount in order to ensure they have an adequate level of protection in these circumstances. Whilst recognising the vast majority of people volunteering to accommodate displaced Ukrainians and their families will present no risk of harm to them. However, the Scottish Ministers are aware from previous similar schemes that people may seek to exploit vulnerabilities in the system and seek opportunities to cause harm. The Scottish Ministers consider that the safeguarding risks posed in these specific circumstances could be very high. This policy will support the scheme by enabling those making placement decisions to be able to ask relevant questions of hosts, and those over the age of 16 residing in hosting households, and seek verification of that information to contribute to preventing displaced Ukrainians and their families being placed with individuals with a history of harmful behaviour.

Children aged 16 and 17 years will be asked for their consent before an enhanced disclosure application can be sought.