we would welcome a commitment to undertake a review of the revised arrangements under the Bill, once enacted, to determine the impact on key services and need for further resource. We note that support may also be necessary in determining what the collective response should be in situations where a formal interview is not required and the circumstances are not at the child protection threshold, but where specific needs may be identified. Whilst in many ways the obvious response to this is support provided within the wider Getting It Right For Every Child arrangements, recent difficulties and debate about legislation has contributed to significant confusion around information sharing. We would be concerned if new legislation such as this Bill, intended to strengthen the recognition of needs, is affected by the information sharing debate and has the effect of children not being referred for support. Please tell us about any other comments you feel are relevant to the Bill. Social Work Scotland welcomes the intentions of the Bill and would agree with other commentary elsewhere that the change in the age of criminal responsibility is long overdue. However, as has been highlighted in the aforementioned Edinburgh Study, robust investment is also needed in the provision of early help for children and young people to give effect to meaningful changes in their circumstances.
we would welcome a commitment to undertake a review of the revised arrangements under the Bill, once enacted, to determine the impact on key services and need for further resource. We note that support may also be necessary in determining what the collective response should be in situations where a formal interview is not required and the circumstances are not at the child protection threshold, but where specific needs may be identified. Whilst in many ways the obvious response to this is support provided within the wider Getting It Right For Every Child arrangements, recent difficulties and debate about legislation has contributed to significant confusion around information sharing. We would be concerned if new legislation such as this Bill, intended to strengthen the recognition of needs, is affected by the information sharing debate and has the effect of children not being referred for support. Please tell us about any other comments you feel are relevant to the Bill. Social Work Scotland welcomes the intentions of the Bill and would agree with other commentary elsewhere that the change in the age of criminal responsibility is long overdue. However, as has been highlighted in the aforementioned Edinburgh Study, robust investment is also needed in the provision of early help for children and young people to give effect to meaningful changes in their circumstances.
SW-Scotland-ACR-Bill-Response-050718.docx