Protecting Children - Securing their Safety

< Previous | Contents | Next >

Foreword by the Minister for Children & Education

In our Programme for Government Making it Work Together we highlighted the need to work together to give our children the best start in life: our children are the future of Scotland. They must have the opportunity to play their full part in Scotland's future: That commitment underlies our efforts to raise standards and achieve excellence in education, to develop best practice for improving children's health, to encourage high quality childcare and sports opportunities for our children and young people.

Scotland can rightly be proud of the positive steps being taken to enhance children's development and well-being. Sadly, it is not enough only to take such positive steps. We must also take measures to safeguard children from the risk of harm and abuse. As is set out in the introduction to this consultation paper a number of measures have already been put In place over the last few years or are currently In train to ensure that children are adequately protected. But there can be no room for complacency. We must be ever vigilant against threats to our children's safety and welI-being. The recent Report of the North Wales Child Abuse Tribunal is only the latest In a number of enquiry reports to underline that fact

That Is why we undertook in our Programme of Government to establish an Index of adults deemed unsuitable to work with children.

There Is already a wide body of support for such an index. Our children's safety is too Important to be put at unnecessary risk That said, we must ensure that the index is implemented In a way that fully respects the rights of those who are considered for Inclusion upon it. The incorporation of the European Convention of Human Rights into the Scottish legal system under the Scotland Act 1998 establishes Scotland as a country where the rights of all must and will be respected.

It Is vital that the index works as effectively as possible. We need to ensure that its coverage is right, that decisions to place people's names upon it are taken in a fair and reasonable manner with an adequate opportunity for appeals, and that Information from the index can be obtained by those, and only those, who need it. We must also ensure that any system that we establish In Scotland works effectively with those elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Experience shows that the tiny minority of people who might deliberately harm children can be only too ready to exploit any loopholes.

This consultation paper gives us the opportunity to gain an Input from those organisations and individuals most interested In children's well being. Let us work together to make more effective our systems of child protection and to give our children the best and safest start in life.

Sam Galbraith MSP
Minister for Children & Education

< Previous | Contents | Next >