Children’s Hearing services are to be brought into a single national body in a bid to improve the support given to vulnerable young people.

The Children's Reporter service, the delivery and administration of Children's Hearings and the recruitment, training and support provided to Panel members are to be combined under proposals from the Scottish Government.

Minister for Children and Early Years Adam Ingram said integration of the services would ensure “a stronger, more consistent service and better delivery across the country". 

"By incorporating the different bodies into a single body…we can re-focus on the individuals who deliver the Hearings system and provide more consistency in decision-making, clearer leadership and better support for everyone involved,” he said. “That has to be good news for our most vulnerable children.”

The government said that while the new arrangements would introduce national co-ordination of the Children's Hearings system, local delivery, links with local communities and the “vital” role of volunteer Panel members would all be preserved.

The proposal was welcomed by Isobel Hutton, spokesperson on education, children and young people for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. "The principle of local delivery and the role of local volunteer Panel members are fundamental to the system, and we look forward to working closely with the Scottish Government to develop the details," she said.

The government will consult on more detailed proposals before bringing the planned changes into effect.