Role of the Reporter
- Receive referrals for children and young people who are believed to require compulsory measures of supervision.
- Draft grounds for referral and decide whether the child needs to be referred to a Hearing.
- Provide administration to Children’s Hearings and keep a record of proceedings at Hearings.
- Maintain the independence of Hearings and support fair process.
- Conduct Children’s Hearings court proceedings.
The Reporter’s primary function is to receive referrals for children and young people who are believed to require compulsory measures of supervision. The Reporter then decides whether the child needs to be referred to a Children’s Hearing.
Grounds for Referral
If the Reporter decides that a child or young person needs to go to a Hearing, the Reporter draws up the grounds for referral. Grounds for referral, can include if the child or young person:
- Suffers from lack of parental care.
- Is falling into bad associations or is exposed to moral danger.
- Is beyond the control of their parent/carer (relevant person).
- The child, or another child in the same household, has been the victim of an offence such as sexual abuse, assault or neglect.
- Is a member of the same household as a person who has offended against a child.
- Has failed to attend school without reasonable excuse.
- Has committed an offence.
- Has abused solvents, or misused drugs or alcohol.
Investigation/Evidence
When a referral has been received, the Reporter has a legal duty to carry out an investigation to establish what evidence appears to exist, which may prove that one or more of the grounds for referral is established.
On non offence (care and protection) grounds, the evidential standard is the civil standard of balance of probabilities. For offence grounds, the Children’s Hearings System operates on the same evidential standard as the criminal justice system (beyond reasonable doubt) therefore, if there is insufficient evidence, the matter cannot be taken further by the Reporter.
If there is sufficient evidence, the Reporter has a duty to examine the child’s circumstances to allow them to determine the best course of action for the individual child or young person. This includes obtaining reports from schools, social work or other agencies involved with the child or their family, such as doctors and health visitors.
On non offence (care and protection) grounds, the evidential standard is the civil standard of balance of probabilities. For offence grounds, the Children’s Hearings System operates on the same evidential standard as the criminal justice system (beyond reasonable doubt) therefore, if there is insufficient evidence, the matter cannot be taken further by the Reporter.
If there is sufficient evidence, the Reporter has a duty to examine the child’s circumstances to allow them to determine the best course of action for the individual child or young person. This includes obtaining reports from schools, social work or other agencies involved with the child or their family, such as doctors and health visitors.
Decision making
Following the investigation, the Reporter can make one of a number of decisions, including referring a child to a Hearing. Where there is no requirement for compulsory measures of supervision, children and young people can be dealt with by a variety of options, including: restorative justice, voluntary measures such as tailored programmes to tackle their behaviour.
These are all available options depending on the individual child, their needs and circumstances.
Children can be referred to services like this either on a compulsory basis following a Children’s Hearing, or on a voluntary basis (without proceeding to a Hearing) with the support of their family/guardians and usually social work services.
Children's Hearing
It is only through the Reporter that children are referred to a Hearing. A child or young person will only be referred to a Children’s Hearing if:
- The Reporter is satisfied that one or more grounds for referral exists (stated in section 52 (2) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995) and,
- There is a need for compulsory measures of supervision (to either protect the child, and/or address their behaviour).
It is the responsibility of the Reporter to notify children and families and any relevant persons of Hearings, and to provide them with all the relevant paper work. Once a child is referred to a Hearing, the role of the Reporter is to keep a report of the proceedings and support fair process without undermining the decision making function of the Hearing.
The Reporter does not provide legal advice to the Hearing or to children and families.
Sheriff Court
Where a child is referred to a Children’s Hearing and the grounds for referral are not accepted, or the child does not understand due to their age or ability, the Hearing can direct the Reporter to make an application to the Sheriff to decide whether the grounds are established. The Reporter will conduct the case in court, including leading evidence before the Sheriff. If the Sheriff is satisfied that the grounds are correct, the Reporter will arrange another Hearing to decide whether the child or young person requires compulsory measures.
The Reporter is also responsible for conducting any appeals against Children’s Hearing decisions in court.
The Reporter is also responsible for conducting any appeals against Children’s Hearing decisions in court.
