Children's Rights Wellbeing Impact Assessments
To support, embed and extend children’s rights in Scotland, the Scottish Government introduced the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act (“the Act”), which received Royal assent in January 2024.
The Act sets out an expectation of a Scotland where children’s human rights are embedded in all aspects of society, with children and young people empowered to give their views and be included in conversations on matters that affect them.
Additionally, policy, law and decision-making must take account of their rights. In doing so, it makes it unlawful for a public authority ‘to act, or fail to act, in connection with a relevant function in a way which is incompatible with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) requirements’
In bringing in the Act, listed public bodies are required to recognise, respect and promote children’s rights in what they do. To work towards facilitating these rights within East Lothian, and to ‘not act incompatibly’ with the Act, East Lothian Council has committed to completing Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessments (CRIWA).
A CRWIA should be used on all new legislation and policy that impact children, not just children’s services.