Hearings for Children report: response

A Focus on Delivery and Participation

To deliver the recommendations for change, a Children’s Hearings Redesign Board (“the Board”) is being established. The Board will be jointly chaired by the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), and includes membership from the senior leadership of key statutory partners responsible for the delivery of the children’s hearings system. This means one member each from the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, Children’s Hearings Scotland and Social Work Scotland. This tightly focused membership of statutory and key partners is designed to ensure immediacy of accountability and real pace in delivery and change. The Board will maintain close links with the wider strategic community of the Children’s Hearings Improvement Partnership (CHIP), as well as commissioning members and groups of members to deliver on identified relevant workstreams.

The Board will oversee delivery of change to the children’s hearings system, ensuring that any changes made are underpinned by clear and compelling evidence - with demonstrable benefits to children and their families. Central to the effective operation of the Board will be core principles of collaboration, co-operation, inclusion, respect and transparency.

As well as their own organisations, the Board members will be accountable to Scottish Ministers and COSLA leaders, and will provide progress updates to other connected strategic boards and groups, including CHIP, as well as to the Promise Scotland and care experienced young people.

Building on the successful and trusting partnerships created and nurtured by Sheriff David Mackie, we will work with children and young people to identify ways for them to enrich the work of the Board and the process of reform and redesign. This is a critical feature of the programme of redesign, but this will happen on terms best suited to the young people. They will be supported to introduce ideas, raise concerns and hold others to account for the work that is taking place.