Children's Hearings Scotland is an

executive non-departmental public body In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process of ...

of the Scottish Government, responsible for aspects of the administration of the country's system of

children's hearing A children's hearing is part of the legal and welfare systems in Scotland; it aims to combine justice and welfare for children and young people. As of 31 March 2020, 8,875 of Scotland's children were subject to a compulsory supervision order. ...

s. It recruits, trains and supports the volunteers who sit on the panels that hear cases brought to it by the

Scottish Children's Reporter Administration The Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, with responsibility for protecting children at risk. SCRA was formed under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1994 ...

. The body was formed in 2013, taking over responsibility from 32

local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

panels to form a single national children's panel. As of 2022, it support around 3,000 volunteers who sit on the panels, or support those who do. Although the organisation has a national remit, panels are arranged on a local basis, with 22 Area Support Teams (ASTs) supporting panel members at a local level across Scotland.

Children's Hearings

is part of the

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

and

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

systems in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

; it aims to combine justice and welfare for children and young people. The children's hearings system was initiated by the

Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

, and further reinforced by

Children (Scotland) Act 1995 A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

and

Children's Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 A children's hearing is part of the legal and welfare systems in Scotland; it aims to combine justice and welfare for children and young people. As of 31 March 2020, 8,875 of Scotland's children were subject to a compulsory supervision order. ...

. It followed a report in April 1964 of a committee set up by the

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the Unit ...

under the chairmanship of Lord Kilbrandon, a

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...

, to examine how young offenders were dealt with. A children's hearing is carried out by three specially trained lay

tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single ...

members of the ''children's panel'', whose role is to make legal decisions about how to best protect and care for the child or young person in question based on the circumstances and the child or young person’s views.

References

External links

Official Website
{{Executive NDPBs of the Scottish Government Tribunals of the Scottish Government Organisations based in Edinburgh Executive non-departmental public bodies of the Scottish Government Child welfare in Scotland Children's rights in Scotland Scots family law Social care in Scotland