The future of secure care and the single point of contact (SPOC) for victims in the Children's Hearings System

The consultation questions are included here for your reference. Please click 'Begin consultation' at the bottom of this page to proceed.

Q1) Do you think the new criteria for authorising a child’s placement in secure accommodation by a children’s hearing are sufficient?

Q2) Should the criteria for secure care be revised to include children who, while not posing an immediate risk to others, may still require intensive secure, or near secure, support, protection from self-harm, or stability in near-secure residential provision, including on premises currently registered and approved to deliver secure care?

Q3) Are there any factors or circumstances you think should be considered in potential future secure care criteria?

Q4) Do you agree the definitions of relevant children’s care services should be reviewed to include a new category of provision with adaptable levels of restriction which can be increased or decreased as required to contemplate necessary shifts between restriction of liberty to deprivation of liberty within the one setting, in the way envisioned by ‘flex secure’?

Q5) How could a model with adaptable levels of restriction within the one setting help protect and advance children’s rights and ensure deprivation of liberty is always a last resort and for the shortest possible time, as required by Article 37 of the UNCRC and in accordance with Article 5 ECHR?

Q6) Do you support the concept of community-based hubs?

Q7) Do you support the wider adoption of the concept of multi-disciplinary teams?

Q8) What further actions could be taken to integrate secure care and mental health services?

Q9) How can these systems work together to ensure that children and young people - both within secure settings and those on the edge of admission - receive trauma-informed, holistic support that prioritises wellbeing alongside safety?

Q10) What improvements in information sharing across services are needed to ensure we fully understand and meet the health and wellbeing needs of children and young people?

Q11) In your experience, which alternative care and support options are currently most effective in preventing the need for secure care placements, particularly on welfare grounds?

Q12) Where alternatives to secure care are available, what factors most strongly influence whether they are used in practice? 

Q13) What gaps currently exist in the availability of alternatives to secure care across Scotland?

Q14) How can learning from local authority practice approaches to alternatives be shared and scaled across Scotland?

Q15) Is there scope for sharing and pooling of resources to support specialist alternatives to secure care on a multi-authority basis?

Q16) What role should health, education, and justice services play in supporting children with complex needs?

Q17) How can we measure the effectiveness of community-based supports in meeting the needs of children and young people?

Q18) What support should be in place to ensure successful transitions, including to Young Offenders’ Institutions, and reintegration for children and young people leaving secure care into their communities, including as they transition into adulthood and more independent living?

Q19) How can we improve access to secure accommodation placements to ensure that children who cannot legally be placed elsewhere (e.g. those remanded or sentenced by the courts) are always accommodated appropriately?

Q20) Do you agree there should be nationally-funded facilities whereby there is guaranteed access to fulfil court orders and do you think that would be sufficient to build confidence in decision makers?  

Q21) Do you agree Scotland should introduce a single national system for co-ordinating secure care placements for children?

Q22) When creating a new national system to coordinate secure care placements for children, which type of model do you think Scotland should look at and take ideas from?

Q23) Beyond the specific models referenced in this section, please share any other proposals or comments you have in relation to national co-ordination.

Q24) If Scotland were to establish a Multi-Agency Panel to make decisions about secure care placements, similar to Northern Ireland’s model, which professionals do you think should be part of that panel?

Q25) Do you support the concept of the wholesale nationalisation of secure care provision in Scotland so it is run as a national service in the future?

Q26) In the short-medium term, do you agree Scotland should move away from ‘spot purchasing’ by local authorities or the Scottish Government as the main way secure placements are funded and services are supported to remain sustainable and supported to plan for improvements and modernisation?

Q27) Which funding model (or combination of models) would best support the sustainability and equitable use of secure care in Scotland, and why?

Q28) How can Scotland make sure that any new approach – whether national, local or mixed – guarantees equity of access for all children?

Q29) Based on the areas expected to be covered in the standards, as referred to above, do these fit with your expectations?

Q30) How should the SPOC service interact with other possible support routes for victims and what kind of specialist training do you think staff need to work effectively in this service?

Q31) How should the SPOC service interact with other organisations within the sector and what features should it include to make it accessible, age-appropriate and trauma-informed?

Q32) Do you agree that the support services that may be provided should extend to signposting victims and their families to counselling and other support and advice services?

Q33) Do you agree that the SPOC service should be resourced to commission and to offer those services to victims?

Q34) If a SPOC delivery model encompassed trained staff, with some aspects potentially delivered by volunteers, what do you think would be the benefits of this approach and do you have any views on the priority training and qualifications of SPOC personnel providing support services?

Q35) In order to provide support and explanation to victims whose cases are not disposed of by a Children’s Reporter or children’s hearing decision, do you agree that the SPOC service should be able to access information from others, including the chief constable of the Police Service of Scotland and local authorities, where cases are dealt with by diversionary measures like Early and Effective Intervention?

Q36) What, if any, do you see as the data protection related issues that you feel could arise from the proposals set out in this consultation?

Q37) What, if any, do you see as the children’s rights and wellbeing issues that you feel could arise from the proposals set out in this consultation?

Q38) What, if any, do you see as the main equality related issues that you feel could arise from the proposals set out in this consultation?

Q39) Please share any other views you have about this consultation, or any other issues you feel it raises.