The Commissioner for Children and Young People's Act received Royal Assent on May 1, 2003, and provided the legislative basis for the appointment of Scotland 's first Commissioner for Children and Young People.
The general function of the Commissioner is to promote and safeguard the rights of children and young people and to:
- generate widespread awareness and understanding of the rights of children and young people
- consider and review the adequacy and effectiveness of any law, policy and practice as it relates to the rights of children and young people
- promote best practice by service providers
- commission and undertake research on matters relating to the rights of children and young people
The Commissioner is not responsible for investigating cases relating to the rights of and provision of services for individual children, for which there are established procedures, through existing statutory agencies and, ultimately, the Courts.
Professor Kathleen Marshall took up her appointment as the first Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland on April 26, 2004.
The Commissioner is independent of the Executive. Professor Marshall was appointed by HM The Queen on the nomination of the Parliament. She is accountable through a duty to report, at least annually, on the exercise of her functions, to the Scottish Parliament.
The budget for the post is provided by the Executive although the Commissioner is a Parliamentary appointment. A cross party panel of MSPs undertook the appointment process with the input and involvement of young people in the process.
The Commissioner's Office can be contacted at:
Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People
85 Holyrood Road
Edinburgh
EH8 8AU
Tel: 0131 558 3733
enquiries@sccyp.org.ukor kathleen.marshall@sccyp.org.uk
The website can be found at http://www.sccyp.org