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Annex B Useful reference material
Legal
The Children (Scotland) Act 1995
The Act puts children first. Each child has the right
to:
- be treated as an individual;
- form and express views on matters affecting him or
her; and
- be protected from all forms of abuse, neglect or
exploitation.
Parents and local authorities have rights and
responsibilities in achieving the balance of care.
The Act is accompanied by four volumes of regulations
and guidance,
Scotland's Children (1997).
The Data Protection Act 1998
The Act covers how information about living,
identifiable people is used. All organisations that hold or
process personal data must comply.
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995
This wide-ranging Act, which came into force in 1996,
makes it illegal to discriminate against disabled people in
employment, access to goods, services, transport and
education.
Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997
(as amended)
The Regulations place a responsibility on employers for
carrying out risk assessments in relation to premises. The
risk assessment is a means of providing fire precautions
for the safety of people using the premises.
The Health and Safety at Work etc Act
1974
The Act is the basic piece of health and safety law that
covers everyone who is affected by work activity. It places
the burden of legal responsibility for health and safety at
work with the employer.
The Human Rights Act 1998
The Act incorporates the European Convention on Human
Rights into Scots and English law in relation to the acts
of public bodies. Its purpose is to protect human rights
and to maintain and promote the ideals and values of a
democratic society. The Articles of Convention include:
- freedom of thought, conscience and religion;
- freedom of expression;
- freedom of assembly and association;
- the right to have respect for private and family
life; and
- the right to marry.
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
The Act is the main law for drugs control in the
UK. It prohibits the possession, supply
and manufacture of medicinal and other products except
where these have been made legal by the Misuse of Drugs
Regulations 1985. The legislation is concerned with
controlled drugs and puts these into five separate
schedules. Anyone who is responsible for storing or
administering controlled drugs should be aware of the
content of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1985 and the
Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) Regulations 1973.
The Police Act 1997
Part V of the Police Act 1997 was implemented in April
2002. This provides for Disclosure Scotland at the Scottish
Criminal Record Office to issue disclosure certificates to
individuals and organisations. For those regularly caring
for, training, or being in sole charge of children, the
certificates will include details of all convictions and
any other information which the police consider relevant to
the post. When the Index of Adults Unsuitable to work with
children is established, any information from this list
will be included too.
The Public Interest Disclosure Act
1998
The Act protects workers who 'blow the whistle' about
wrongdoing. It mainly takes the form of amendments to the
Employment Rights Act 1996, and makes provision about the
kinds of disclosures which may be protected; the
circumstances in which such disclosures are protected; and
the persons who may be protected.
The Race Relations Act 1976
The Act makes racial discrimination illegal in
employment, service delivery, training and other areas.
The Race Relations (Amendment) Act
2000
The Act makes racial discrimination illegal in public
activities that were not previously covered. It puts a
general duty on public organisations to promote race
equality.
The Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act
2001
The Act establishes a new system of care service
regulation including the registration and inspection of
care services which takes account of national care
standards. The Act also creates two new national,
independent bodies, the Scottish Commission for the
Regulation of Care, to regulate care services, and the
Scottish Social Services Council, to regulate the social
service workforce and to promote and regulate its education
and training.
You can visit these websites for information:
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act
1974
The Act enables some criminal convictions to become
'spent' or ignored, after a rehabilitation period. The
rehabilitation period is a set length of time from the date
of conviction.
The Sex Discrimination Act 1975
The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 makes it unlawful to
discriminate on grounds of sex or marital status in
recruitment, promotion and training. The Act also covers
education, the provision of housing, goods and services and
advertising.
Standards in Scotland's Schools etc, Act
2000
Local authorities are required to have regard to the
guidance issued under Section 34 when exercising their
duties in relation to pre-school education. The guidance
recognises the importance of delivering quality services
for children and expects pre-school education not only to
make a distinctive contribution but to link into the wider
efforts to secure integrated services for children and
families.
Policy
Aiming for Excellence: Modernising Social Work
Services in Scotland 1999
The White Paper sets out the proposals to strengthen the
protection of children and vulnerable adults and to make
sure high quality services are provided. The Scottish
Commission for the Regulation of Care is an independent
regulator set up for this purpose.
Our National Health 2000
The health plan aims to improve Scotland's health and
close the health gap between rich and poor, restoring the
NHS as a national service and improving
care and standards.
Other useful references
The
UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child
The Convention is not a law but a code that the
Government signed up to in 1991. It recognises that young
people under 18 in Scotland do have rights. These rights
must be given fairly, and children and young people must be
kept safe and well, and able to take part in society.
A Curriculum Framework for Children
3-5
The Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum,
1999.
The Child at the Centre
Scottish Executive Education Department, 2000. A good
practice guide for all providers of care and education for
3 to 5 year olds.
A Manual of Good Practice in Special
Educational Needs
Scottish Office Education and Industry Department, 1998.
A manual of guidance to all those concerned with the
education of children and young people with special
educational needs. It includes advice for pre-school
teachers.
Guidance on Teacher Involvement in Pre-School
Education
Issued by the Scottish Executive Education Department in
January 2002, will in due course be subsumed within the
statutory guidance offered to local authorities under
section 34 of the Standards in Scotland's Schools etc, Act
2000.
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