Chamber and committees

I was referring to the improvement plan, which will feed in to—

Sorry?

I apologise, but I do not have those figures to hand. I believe that the costings were considered along with the recommendations. Brendan, do you want to comment?

Sorry, but are you again referencing the costs for salaried chairs and paid volunteers?

I have already alluded to the work that is under way. I have given you two points on the range of interventions that we have asked Children’s Hearings Scotland to develop in order to improve matters. As I have said, I will work closely with Children’s Hearings Scotland and I will monitor what those actions will be. Children’s Hearings Scotland is working with its partners to minimise the number of abortive or deferred rota hearings. I am giving you answers on the action that will be taken by Children’s Hearings Scotland and the action that is being taken by the Government on other matters, and I can only report back on those over time.

First, I am so sorry to hear that account.

As I have said, I have met a number of committee members individually, and I appreciate the strength of feeling and the fact that we need to get it right. I have been clear that we need to strike a fine balance in how we do it. However, I have carefully considered all the information that I received at stage 1 and in my individual meetings with many committee members, and I continue to work with a range of victim support organisations to explore the balance that is currently being struck. For example, I want to ensure that information can be shared with victims when that is needed for their safety, but it is important to make sure that we take the best approach to that.

Those would be additional financial figures that would come through in due course. As they are not directly associated with the bill at this stage, they are not included in our projections.

Yes. I appreciate that. As I have said, that issue was raised with me when I met many of you individually. There are real concerns about it, and I am switched on to that. I hope that what I have said today makes it clear that aspects of the issue are still under consideration to ensure that we get the balance right both for a child who might have offended and, equally, for a victim. I am committed to ensuring that we get that balance right.

Do you mean in terms of people breaking the conditions that are set for them?

Absolutely. Given what I have already laid out, I hope that I have reassured the committee that I think that that is an extremely important aspect of the bill. I appreciate the feeling from a range—if not all—of the committee members on the subject.

I am absolutely committed to our taking a person-centred, trauma-informed approach to the matter, and I share the committee’s and witnesses’ desire to ensure that a consistent, quality approach is taken to providing the right information and support from the early stages and throughout the process. As I have said, matters are being considered in terms of both statute and legislative measures going forward for stage 2.

I should have mentioned the fact that there is already an offer to victims regarding information but that it has quite a low take-up rate. I believe that the committee has heard about that in evidence. I have asked about that, and I believe that the SCRA is now looking into the reasons for the low uptake rate. That work is going on at the moment, but I reassure the committee that we are looking to strike the right balance and to get this right for all the children involved. I hope that that reassures you.