United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC): Embedding Children's Rights in Public Services Guidance Sub-Group: terms of reference

Purpose

The primary purpose of the guidance sub-group will be to support the Embedding Children’s Rights in Public Services Team (ECRPS) within the Children’s Rights Unit with development of part 2 and part 3 statutory guidance in the context of imminent remedial work on the UNCRC Bill.

The sub-group will initially focus on statutory guidance as required under section 10B and section 16A of the UNCRC Bill in relation to part 2 section 6 (duties on public authorities), and part 3 section 15 (reporting duties of listed public authorities).

The sub-group will provide advice and support for the Embedding in Public Services Group (referred to as “the group” throughout this document) in relation to Statutory Guidance as it progresses with its work to assist on the Embedding Children’s Rights in Public Services strand of the UNCRC Implementation Programme.

The secondary purpose of the sub-group will be to give ongoing consideration to whether existing guidance, whether in relation to the Bill or otherwise, would benefit from an update regarding context in relation to children’s rights. In addition, give ongoing consideration to the benefit to produce optional, non-statutory guidance in relation to the Bill, and wider implementation work.

Background

The sub-group has developed out of the Embedding in Public Services Group which was convened to assist the ECRPS to best support wider cultural change and understanding of children’s rights within the delivery of public services.

It was recognised that development of guidance would require a significant amount of work for the Embedding in Public Services Group to undertake alongside supporting the ECRPS strand as a whole. Therefore, it was proposed that a Guidance sub-group was convened to focus on the production of guidance to assist with the UNCRC Implementation Programme.

Membership

The membership of the sub-group will be flexible but will mainly include representation from current members of the Embedding In Public Services Group (which includes leaders in the children’s rights sector, public authorities, and the wider third sector).

Members are well placed and able to inform the work of the sub-group with the views of non-member stakeholders, such as children and young people and non-represented public authorities.

Membership of the sub-group can be found in annex 1.

The Subgroup will not be a substitute for full consultation in line with the provisions of the Bill. It is, however, intended to ensure that guidance is developed from the outset with the needs of public authorities and rights holders at the centre.

Timeline and meetings

Meetings will occur on a monthly basis, on a Tuesday from 13:00 to 14:00. The option to change the frequency at any time is retained.

The sub-group will also be able to call exceptional meetings as required.

There will be no requirement for all members to join every meeting and attendance can be judged by members on relevance and interest.

Information between meetings can be shared via correspondence.

The sub-group may choose, after discussion, cease meetings if the purpose as defined in point 1 has been fulfilled and the purpose as defined in point 4 can be met through the regular business of the group.

Governance

The sub-group will sit at the operational level of the UNCRC Implementation Programme, assisting with the delivery of guidance within the ECRPS strand and ensuring appropriate engagement with key non-member stakeholders.

The sub-group will provide regular updates to the Embedding in Public Services Group, which will form part of wider monthly updates provided to the Strategic Implementation Board (SIB).

The sub-group will identify and raise any risks to the delivery of point 1 and 4 with the Chair. These will be escalated o the Embedding in Public Services Group, and/or SIB if necessary. All responsibility for the programme management will remain with Scottish Government.

Materials shared with the group which are not published, are confidential, and not for wider circulation.

The sub-group has permission to share confidential material only on request of SG.

Support

Secretariat support for the group will be provided by the Children’s Rights Unit. The lead contact is Luiza Leite (Luiza.Leite@gov.scot).

The secretariat will:

• circulate an agenda and other relevant papers in advance of each meeting
• minutes and actions will be taken for each meeting and circulated approximately one week after each meeting
• minutes will be kept high level and aim to capture actions and the group’s decisions, and be circulated to members for clearance prior to publishing

The minutes, terms of reference and membership list will be made available to the Subgroup and shared regularly via email.

 

List of members

•  Alistair Stobie, SOLAR
• Carola Eyber, Scottish Government
• Colin Convery, Police Scotland
• Darren Little, Dumfries and Galloway Council (Children’s Services Planning Strategic Lead)
• Dr Deborah Wason, Public Health Scotland
• Dragan Nastic, Unicef
• Julie Williams, Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland (CCPS)
• Juliet Harris, Together Scotland
• Nicola Hogg, SOLAR
• Nicola Hughes, Scottish Government
• Poppy Prior, Scottish Government
• Rebecca Spillane, Improvement Service
• Rebekah Cameron-Berry, Cosla
• Sarah Rodger, SOLAR
• Shona Spence, Scottish Government
• Tamar Jamieson, Police Scotland