Financial redress for historical child abuse: consultation summary

Section 9:  Bringing services together

(Please see Questions 51 to 55 in the Respondent Information Form)

The financial redress scheme gives us an opportunity to think about how wider support and acknowledgement for survivors of in care abuse could be provided.  There could be benefits in bringing these services together – benefits for survivors, and for the delivery of the services.

Financial redress is an important part of a package of reparations for historical child abuse in care, along with acknowledgement, apology and wider support.  At the moment, the following is in place for in care survivors:

• acknowledgement and apology - the National Confidential Forum was set up in 2014 to listen to and acknowledge individuals childhood experiences of institutional care in Scotland; public apologies were given in 2004 and 2018, and a law was introduced in 2016 to make it easier for organisations to apologise for what happened;
• wider support – Future Pathways was set up in 2016 and takes a person-centred approach to identify what individual survivors need then help them access that support. The Scottish Government also provides funding for other support services for survivors.

We want to know if you think there would be benefits in bringing together the delivery of financial redress, acknowledgement, personal apology and support into one organisation. And if you think it would be a good idea to bring these together in one place.

We would also like to know:

• if you think the eligibility for financial redress (see Section 2) should be the same for acknowledgement, apology and support;
• if certain groups should be prioritised e.g. the elderly and ill;
• if an individual is eligible to the redress scheme and lives outside Scotland, should they have the same access to wider support as someone living in Scotland.