Jewel in the crown

August 31st, 2009

It is one of those services that we are all aware of but expect we never have to deal with.

Having spent time with some of our local Children’s panel members over the years and listened to their shocking experiences of dealing with troubled and at-risk children, I value the good work they do.

Like them, I was dismayed when I heard the Scottish Government was to bring forward a Children’s Hearing Bill which would have dismantled the system as we know it.

Long considered the jewel in the crown in ensuring the protection, safety and welfare of our vulnerable children, the effect of the bill would have been to see children’s hearings run more like courts.

The proposal was to create a new national body called the Scottish Children’s Hearing Tribunal, diminishing the role of local people

If implemented, it would have separated the roles of the Children’s Reporter and the panel members, removing the support and legal advice they receive, and centralise training and recruitment.

Local panel members across the country rebelled against this centralisation and around 40 per cent of these committed people even threatened to resign, meaning a wealth of experience would have been lost to the system.

Since being announced in May, the proposals have been rightly criticised as rushed and unnecessary.

Thankfully the U-turn on these proposals was slipped out this week and may have escaped your notice.

But I am happy to announce that this ill-considered and unpopular bill has been dropped by the Children’s Minister Adam Ingram and the Scottish Government.

The official line is it has been shelved until March 2010 before being introduced but I would be very surprised if it ever saw the light of day again.

As someone who has campaigned for improvements in child protection during my time as an MSP, I for one am glad to see the back of it.