Children and Young People Bill passed

Children’s Minister Aileen Campbell has welcomed Parliament’s backing for new laws to provide greater support for children and families.

The Children and Young People Bill will deliver more funded, flexible early learning and childcare of at least 600 hours a year for three- and four-year-olds and the most vulnerable two year olds – delivering a saving of around £700 per child per family per year – from August.

Other provisions in the Bill will see:

• From April 2015, teenagers in residential, foster or kinship care who turn 16 gaining new rights to remain ‘looked-after’ up to the age of 21, as well as extended entitlement to aftercare up to their 26th birthday.

• New duties placed on Ministers and the wider public sector to promote children’s rights, as well increased powers given to Scotland’s Children’s Commissioner.

• Kinship carers gaining enhanced legal entitlements to assistance.

• Scotland’s National Adoption Register placed in statute, improving prospects for finding homes for vulnerable young children.

• Counselling and other support provided for vulnerable children and their families.

• Improved provision of advice and help when needed for children and families from early years to adulthood, including providing a ‘named person’ for each child – usually their health visitor or head/senior teacher – available as a single point of contact.

• Every primary 1 to 3 child gaining the option of a free school lunch from next January.

• Strengthened legislation on school closures, including new requirements and improved transparency for closure proposals, particularly in rural communities.

Ministers have set out their longer-term ambition to transform childcare provision and ensure every child from one to school age is entitled to 1,140 hours each year, if Scotland gains full control of its finances following a vote for independence in September. This can help boost economic activity and support around 35,000 additional early years jobs.

Ms Campbell added: “As I have always said, this Bill is a starting point for a significant expansion of high quality, flexible early learning and childcare. It sets the foundations for our longer-term aim to transform childcare provision using the full powers and resources of independence – enabling us to support more parents wanting to move into work by re-investing higher revenues from improved economic activity back into expanded childcare provision.

“Our approach is a phased, sustainable one, where we are focusing first on those families who are most in need and who will benefit most from an expansion of funded hours. Not only will this improve the life chances of children, it will also provide opportunities for parents and families to benefit from support into training or sustainable employment.

“In Scotland’s Future we have set out phased plans to achieve 1,140 hours per year for all children aged between 1 and 5, starting with an increase to half of all 2 year olds. The expansion set out in the Bill is a significant step towards realising that vision.”

Commenting on the Bill’s wider measures, Ms Campbell added: “This landmark Bill is testament to the ambition, hard work and dedication of many young people, their families and countless others who have backed them in their calls for improved recognition and support from public and other services as they move towards adulthood.

“The legislation is the culmination of extensive consultation and discussion with a wide variety of individuals and groups all with the best interests of Scotland’s children at heart. The measures will support children and families right across the country and will help secure a widely-held ambition for Scotland to be the best place in the world for children to grow up.”

The Bill’s provisions for an expansion in funded early learning and childcare provision will see entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds rise from 475 hours a year to a minimum of 600 hours from August 2014. The same provision will be extended to 2 year olds who are ‘looked after’, under a Kinship Care Order, or with a parent appointed guardian; and, those who live in workless or job-seeking households. This will be further expanded in August 2015 to a wider group of two-year-olds based on current free school meal eligibility – representing around 27% of all 2 year olds.

Provision for free school lunches were included in the Bill through Stage 3 amendments to the Bill, agreed by MSPs, today and will help wider efforts to improve health and wellbeing and increase attainment, as well as saving families around £330 a year for each child.

A 12-week public consultation on the proposed Bill was launched in July 2012, receiving 300 responses from a range of individuals and groups. Six national engagement events, involving 800 individuals, were also held. Before, during and after the Bill’s introduction, the Government has also held meetings with more than 150 groups and organisations during the legislation’s development. Almost 2,500 young people were also involved in the consultation process, including over 1,400 who responded to a Young Scot / Scottish Youth Parliament survey on the Bill. Parents’ views on services and childcare were also obtained from engagement with over 1,500 during the development of the National Parenting Strategy.

View further information about the Bill here: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/Bills/62233.aspx

View further information on how the Scottish Government is supporting children and families here: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Young-People