The Commissioner has written to the Prime Minister proposing a practical change to the Scotland Act 1998. The change would allow Scotland’s UNCRC Act to apply more consistently when Scottish
Results for Correspondence
Letter to Parliament on child poverty scrutiny
Together with children’s charities and anti-poverty organisations, the Commissioner has written to the Scottish Parliament calling for stronger scrutiny of progress on ending child poverty.
Letter to Police Scotland: Consideration of the use of live facial recognition technology
The Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and the Scottish Human Rights Commission have jointly written to Police Scotland raising serious concerns about the use of live facial recognition technology (LFRT). The letter highlights risks of breaching children’s rights, equality law, and human rights law—including privacy, expression, and freedom from discrimination. The organisations urge Police Scotland to ensure any use of LFRT is lawful, proportionate, and fully compliant with the UNCRC and other legal obligations.
Letter to Cabinet Secretaries and Ministers – Statutory Framework on Restraint and Seclusion
The Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, alongside the Scottish Human Rights Commission, The Promise Scotland, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission, has urged the Scottish Government to establish a unified statutory framework on restraint and seclusion across all child care settings.
Letter to Natalie Don-Innes, Minister for Children, Young People and the Promise – Lack of secure beds
The Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland has raised urgent concerns with the Minister for Children, Young People and the Promise over a lack of secure accommodation, leaving vulnerable children without necessary care. The Commissioner calls for immediate action to address capacity issues and ensure children’s safety.
Letter to the First Minister: School meal debt
This letter, sent on the 1st of December 2024, is addressed to the First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney and advocates for ending school meal debt and addressing hidden hunger among children in Scotland.
Letter to Ofgem: the severe impact of its decisions on children
Letter to Jonathan Brearley, Chief Executive of the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) raising concerns for children in relation to important recent decisions made by Ofgem. Ofgem has allowed three companies (EDF, Octopus and Scottish Power) to restart force-fitting pre-payment meters, and that from January 2024 the energy price cap would be raised allowing energy companies to charge more per unit of energy.
Joint Letter: Statutory Framework on Restraint and Seclusion
We have joined together with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Scottish Human Rights Commission, the Mental Welfare Commission, and the Promise Scotland, to call for a holistic, human rights based statutory guidance on restraint. This must be based on a consistent legal framework that applies to all situations where children are in the care of the State, including schools, residential and secure care, and mental health provision.
Letter to Graham Stuart MP, Minister for Energy and Climate on pre-payment meters and children’s rights
Commissioner writes to set out concerns about the energy companies’ inadequate action over addressing the forced installation of pre-payment meters on families. Any failure by the UK Government to take
Letter to Ofgem: calling for a ban on energy companies compulsory installations of pre-payment meters
Scotland’s Children’s Commissioner Bruce Adamson’s letter to the regulator Ofgem, urging it to ban energy companies from all compulsory installations of pre-payment meters, a practice that leaves struggling families at severe risk of energy disconnection.
The Commissioner expressed his grave concern that energy companies are still not effectively identifying vulnerable individuals to provide them, and any dependent children with the support that they desperately need.
The Commissioner points to the increased risks to children’s right to life, health and development by the energy companies’ decisions and lack of effective identification, calling on Ofgem to urgently “take a more active regulatory approach, rather than a watching brief”.