Progressing children's rights in Scotland: an action plan 2018 to 2021 - consultation

3. Proposed Content of Action Plan

3.1 In line with s.1(4)(c) of the 2014 Act, the Action Plan will cover Scottish Ministers’ plans for taking forward children’s rights from 15 June 2018 until June 2021. As with the Report, the Action Plan will also be organised around the ‘cluster groupings’ used in reporting to the UN Committee.

Proposed Strategic Actions to Further Promote and Embed Children’s Rights

3.2 The Scottish Ministers’ aim in taking forward their first Action Plan under Part 1 of the 2014 Act is to deliver transformational change in how children and young people experience their rights. It is proposed, therefore, that the Action Plan 2018-2021 will be a key vehicle for delivering a number of wider, strategic actions intended to support the taking forward of the UNCRC principles. These strategic actions will aim to further promote and embed children’s rights across Scottish Government portfolios and beyond.

3.3 This consultation document seeks views on the inclusion of the following strategic actions within the Action Plan:

• the development of a dynamic Participation Framework for Children and Young People, building on the legacy of the 2018 Year of Young People;

• the ambitious delivery, through co-production, of the 3 year children’s rights awareness programme announced in the 2017-18 Programme for Government, which will seek to raise awareness of children’s rights across all sectors of society;

• progressing the children’s rights audit on the most effective and practical ways to further embed the principles of the UNCRC into policy, practice and legislation, including the option of full incorporation into domestic law, also announced in the 2017-18 Programme for Government; and

• evaluation of the Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment ( CRWIA).

These will be discussed in more detail at Section 4 below.

Specific Actions Relevant to Securing Better or Further Effect of the UNCRC Requirements

3.4 Responsibilities for taking forward children’s rights are mainstreamed across all portfolios within the Scottish Government. The principles of the UNCRC are, therefore, already taken into account in the development of relevant Scottish Government policies, strategic frameworks, action plans and other key documents. This includes, for example, A Fairer Scotland for All: Race Equality Action Plan 2017-21; Equally Safe – A Delivery Plan for Scotland’s Strategy to Prevent Violence against Women and Girls (2017); Every Child, Every Chance – The Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2018-22; the 2018 National Improvement Framework and Improvement Plan for Scottish Education; etc. Further examples of these documents and initiatives are attached in Annex A.

3.5 It is not proposed that the Action Plan will duplicate all of the actions being taken forward in the documents referred to above. Rather, to fully capture and represent all that Scottish Ministers intend to achieve in relation to the rights of the child between 2018 and 2021, it is suggested that the Action Plan should include a non-exhaustive list of these wider policy specific initiatives and highlight a number of key actions from these, particularly those most relevant to taking forward the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s Concluding Observations. This is consistent with the mainstreaming of rights across Scottish Government.

3.6 In addition to this, it is proposed that, where appropriate, the Action Plan will also include a number of policy specific actions that have been identified through the consultation process and which are not currently provided for within the initiatives mentioned above. Section 4 of this document seeks your views on what other specific actions you consider should be included within the Action Plan. As far as practicable, identified actions in the Plan will be specific, measurable and timed.

3.7 The following question seeks your views on the proposed high level content of the Action Plan. Subsequent questions seek your views on specific actions for inclusion in the Plan.

Question 1 – High Level Contents of the Action Plan

Do you agree that the Action Plan should include:

i. Identified strategic actions intended to secure transformational change in how children and young people experience their rights. Yes/No

ii. A summary of specific initiatives being taken forward across all Scottish Government portfolios that captures what we will do in the next 3 years to secure better or further effect of the UNCRC principles. Yes/No

iii. A number of key policy specific actions identified through the consultation process that are not currently being taken forward through other Scottish Government initiatives. Yes/No

Where you answered ‘No’ to any of the above questions – please provide your reasons why you did not agree.