The UK Supreme Court has ruled that the UNCRC Scotland Bill is not within the competence of the Scottish Parliament. This news means that The Scottish Government must now take the Bill back to the Scottish Parliament and amend it to address the concerns raised by the Supreme Court to protect children’s rights.
Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament, Josh Kennedy MSYP, said:
“There’s no hiding that children and young people who have campaigned for UNCRC incorporation for years were hoping their rights would be protected in Scots Law by October, when the Bill passed in March. The onus is now on the Scottish Government to address the judgement made by the Supreme Court and work to bring forward a revised Bill to Parliament as soon as possible.
“As the technical issues raised in the Court are resolved, it’s vital that the work to prepare for incorporation continues to be done with children and young people’s views at its heart. SYP will continue to advocate for incorporation at the earliest possible date and work with the Scottish Government and public bodies to prepare them for UNCRC incorporation.”
SYP have today joined Together and their members in writing to the Minister for Children and Young People and the Deputy First Minister following today’s announcement. You can read the letter by clicking here.
The letter from Together members calls for the Scottish Government’s Minister for Children and Young People and the Deputy First Minister to bring forward the revised Bill required to bring children’s rights into Scots Law as soon as possible. We recognise that the Supreme Court’s concerns were not with the policy intention of the Bill, and so would encourage the Scottish Government to continue to work with children and young people to ensure implementation is achieved without delay while the technical concerns of the Court are fixed in a revised Bill.
