National Confidential Forum - A consultation on the creation of a Forum for Adult Survivors of Childhood Abuse in Residential Care

Ministerial Foreword

The Scottish Government is committed to providing support for adult survivors of childhood abuse. Through the National Strategy, SurvivorScotland, launched in 2005, we have raised awareness, developed training and skills for frontline workers and invested in the development of services for survivors.

In September 2009 Scottish Ministers gave approval for a Pilot Forum, Time to be Heard, to hear testimony from adults who had formerly been residents of Quarriers (which before 1983 was the largest children's home in Scotland), with the aim of making recommendations on the wider rollout of such a forum.

Following the success of Time to be Heard we indicated our support for a National Confidential Forum and agreed to introduce legislation to establish this. The valuable lessons learned from the Time to be Heard Pilot Forum provide a basis for future development. We would like to hear your views on what a National Confidential Forum should look like.

We are aware that some of you will have an interest in more than the National Confidential Forum and will want to have a say on what happens with the recommendations in the Scottish Human Rights Framework. These recommendations do not form part of this consultation. They are being considered separately in the Human Rights Interaction, which is being led by the Centre for Looked After Children in Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Human Rights Commission. I have agreed that the Scottish Government will take part in the Interaction.

I look forward to receiving your comments on the consultation paper.

Michael Matheson MSP
Minister for Public Health