More clarity required on proposed registers

The management of a centralised national register of child welfare reporters should be the responsibility of Sheriffs Principal and the Lord President, says the Faculty of Advocates.

The Faculty was responding to a Scottish Government consultation on the registers of child welfare reporters, curators ad litem and solicitors appointed when a person is prohibited from conducting their own case.

“The purpose of appointment of a child welfare reporter is to assist decision makers in making good decisions in the interests of children, and that should be clearly borne in mind throughout. The creation and implementation of new processes should therefore be directed towards the requirements of decision makers. In that regard the purpose is not to replace the decision making of sheriffs and judges but to assist them,” said the Faculty.

However, further clarity around parts of the consultation would be required before making any definitive remarks in some instances, said the Faculty. “We note that it is proposed that individuals would need to complete an application form which would be sifted on an anonymous basis and that individuals who pass the sift may then be interviewed to assess their suitability for inclusion on the register.

“To be in a position to comment on the proposed process, we would require to have an understanding of what it would involve, for example, the form of the application, the sift process and how and by whom it would be conducted, and the format and style of interviews.”

 The Faculty agreed that child welfare reporters should be included on the register for a three-year period. However, instead of a three-yearly full reappointment process, it proposed that a three yearly scheme of revalidation, together with annual appraisals and an indication of whether an individual wished to remain on the list, could be more appropriate. 

 It also agreed that in general individuals directly involved in the establishment, maintenance, operation or management of the register, individuals employed by the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service, members of the judiciary, members of the Scottish Government and junior Scottish ministers, and those barred from registered work with children by virtue of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007, should not be eligible for inclusion on the register. However, it called for more clarity here as well. “For example, would a solicitor or advocate who is a part-time sheriff, or tribunal member be disqualified? If part-time sheriffs were to be excluded for appointment in cases in the sheriff courts, would the exclusion extend to cases in the Court of Session?”

The Faculty’s full response on the consultation on the registers of child welfare reporters, curators ad litem and solicitors appointed when a person is prohibited from conducting their own case can be accessed here