Youth Justice

No Children in Prisons in Scotland

As at 1 September 2024, no children (defined as those under-18 years) are being held in prison in Scotland. This is a historic achievement, with much of it down to our Executive Committee Member, Fiona Dyer and her team at CYCJ. It is worth noting that this is the only part of the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act 2024 that has been implemented to date.

Children's Hearings Redesign Consultation

On 26 July 2024, the Scottish Government launched its Children’s Hearings Redesign consultation. This follows the 20-month review of the children’s hearings system led by our Convenor, Sheriff David Mackie - Hearings for Children: The report of the Hearings System Working Group which was published on 25 May 2023, and which set out a broad range of recommendations.

Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill

On 12 May 2023 the Stage 1 report on the Children (Care and Justice) Scotland Bill was published. There was broad agreement from the majority of stakeholders that the age at which a young person can be referred to the Children’s Hearing System (CHS) should be raised to18 and that no child (defined as someone under the age of 18) should ever be held in a prison/YOI. There was much discussion about the financial implications of this and the need to address corresponding resource concerns.

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