Young Person's Guarantee: children's rights and wellbeing impact assessment (CRWIA)

Stage 1 - Screening - key questions

1. Name the policy, and describe its overall aims.

The Young Person’s Guarantee

Scottish Government Ministers launched the Young Person’s Guarantee (the Guarantee) on 5 November 2020. The aim of the Guarantee is to provide every person aged between 16-24 in Scotland the opportunity, depending on their circumstances, to study, take up an apprenticeship, job or work experience or participate in formal volunteering.

The Guarantee builds upon our substantial existing investment in education, employability and skills programmes and support that are available to young people by providing additional opportunities and enhancing support. It aims to create a more joined up, accessible and streamlined employability and skills landscape to improve young peoples’ progression towards and into fair work and to help ensure they have the best opportunity to reach their potential.

The importance of delivering the Guarantee is crucial considering the immediate impacts of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on young people’s prospects. Nonetheless, the Guarantee must be sustainable and not just a short-term response to COVID-19. The long-term aim is to ensure young people in Scotland are supported to develop the skills needed to find and progress in good, sustainable jobs.

The Scottish Government^[1] committed to the implementation of the Guarantee in its 2020-2021 Programme for Government^[2]. The Guarantee will also help contribute to achieving several National Performance Framework^[3] objectives. These include but are not limited to:

• promoting young people being well educated, skilled and able to contribute to society,
• to enable young people to reach their full potential, promoting happiness and good wellbeing; and
• to advance equality and inclusion whilst working to eliminate discrimination.

2. What aspects of the policy/measure will affect children and young people up to the age of 18?

As the Guarantee aims to provide every person aged between 16-24 in Scotland with the opportunity, depending on their circumstances, to study, take up an apprenticeship, job or work experience or participate in formal volunteering, it will impact on all young people aged 16-24 years.

According to the Labour Market Monthly Briefing for the period February 2021 to April 2021, the unemployment rate for 16-24 year olds in Scotland was 9.1%, compared with 3.6% for 25-34 year olds and 3.5% for 35-49 year olds.

Evidence found by the Resolution Foundation suggest that employment and pay scarring as a result of COVID-19 could be larger and longer-lasting than that seen after the 2008 financial crisis^[4]. The Guarantee aims to help mitigate adverse effects with by providing opportunities within further and higher education, employment, volunteering and apprenticeships. Additional funding has been allocated to the Guarantee to provide additional and enhanced opportunities within further education, volunteering, apprenticeships, employability and employment; as well as to improve links between schools and employers.

3. What likely impact – direct or indirect – will the policy/measure have on children and young people?

The Guarantee will contribute towards advancing the rights and wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland.

The Guarantee will have a direct and indirect impact on children and young people. It will have a direct impact on people aged 16-18^[5] participating in the Guarantee and an indirect impact on children and young people that are dependents of a person participating in the Guarantee, as it is aligned with the Parental Employment Support Fund (PESF).

The PESF aims to help unemployed parents and those facing in-work poverty find work, boost skill sets and get advice on money. The fund will also provide support for parents who face barriers to progressing their careers, including help to gain qualifications, improving skills or work experience; money advice and motivational support. By aligning with the PESF, parents, including young parents, will have access to a range of support which will contribute towards advancing the rights and wellbeing of children.

Broadly speaking, we anticipate the opportunities created by the Guarantee will initially help mitigate the economic and some of the social and health (in particular mental health) impacts of COVID-19. In the longer term, our aim is that it will contribute to increased educational attainment, broader participation in the labour market, contribute towards reducing levels of poverty, improve financial wellbeing and ultimately positively impact the life opportunities and outcomes of young people.

We will measure the impact of the Guarantee against a set of key social and economic performance indicators. These are being developed with partner organisations and will form part of our overall measurement and evaluation framework.

4. Which groups of children and young people will be affected?

Predominantly, young people aged 16-24 will be affected by the policy, however some young children will also be affected as highlighted above.

Given the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 and existing inequalities within the labour market, advancing equality and inclusion and working to eliminate discrimination is central to the Guarantee to ensure that no one is left behind. The Guarantee takes into account the need to improve opportunities and access to support for young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, young people with protected characteristics and young care experienced people. We appreciate people do not fall neatly into these categories and there is often some overlaps and also recognise the importance of intersectionality in ensuring the Guarantee reaches the wide-ranging needs of young people in Scotland.

The Scottish Government will work with those delivering the Guarantee to take action that will support particular groups to better access a range of opportunities. This includes but it not limited to: young black people, young people of colour, young disabled people, young women, young LGBTI+ people, and young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. The importance of intersectionality across characteristics will also need to be considered. We have completed an Equalities Impact Assessment and published an Equalities Action Plan to sit alongside the Guarantee’s Activity Plan. The Implementation Group which is advising the Scottish Government on the Guarantee has established and Equality subgroup to support the delivery of the Equalities Action Plan.

5. Will this require a CRWIA?

Yes. While the Guarantee aims to improve outcomes for children and young people, it is possible that there may be some unintended consequences which the CRWIA will help to inform as the delivery of the Guarantee evolves. The process of undertaking a CRWIA and the subsequent research, monitoring and analysis of evidence will help to record the impact of this policy on children’s rights and wellbeing. The CRWIA is necessary to facilitate a deeper understanding of the wider issues facing children and young people and in turn will inform more effective and relevant policy recommendations.

In determining whether to complete a CRWIA, we have considered whether the points below are relevant in accordance with the CRWIA Guidance^[6].

• The vulnerability of the groups affected by the policy/measure
• The numbers of children and young people affected by the policy/measure
• The consequences of the policy/measure for those who work with these children
• Whether a high level of resources will be committed to the policy/measure
• How high profile the policy/measure is
• Whether this is a major new direction for policy
• Whether the policy/measure will be subject to consultation
• Whether the policy/measure is in legislation
• Whether there is a lack of evidence on the way in which the policy/measure affects or could affect children and young people, including evidence from children themselves
• Whether it is difficult to anticipate what the impact will be on children and young people

It is our view that each of the points above are relevant to the Guarantee and therefore a CRWIA must be completed.

CRWIA Declaration

Tick relevant section and complete the form.

CRWIA not required

Authorisation

Policy lead

Victoria Beattie
Unit Head
Young Person’s Guarantee Division

Date
14/06/2021

Deputy Director or equivalent

Gavin Gray
Deputy Director
Young Person’s Guarantee Division

Date
14/06/2021