Ministear airson slalnte Coimhearsnachd agus Cuisean LaghaMinister for Community Safety and Legal AffairsRoseanna Chonaigean SPARoseanna Cunningham MSP

FIT: 0845 7741741E: scottish.ministers@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

The ScottishGovernmentRiaghaltas na h-Alba

Mr Alan Draperalandraper3@btinternet.com

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31 March 2014

Dear Mr Draper

Thank you for your e-mail of 11 March to Alasdair Allan MSP, Minister for Learning,Science and Scotland's Languages, regarding your request for a public inquiry into historic incare child abuse and your concerns about time-bar. Your enquiry has been passed to me· asresponsibility for the policy on public inquiries and prescription and limitation is part of myministerial portfolio.

As you may be aware, in Scotland, there have been a number of inquiries into child abuse incare. The Scottish Government also commissioned Tom Shaw to undertake a systemicreview of the systems of laws, rules and regulations which governed residential schools andchildren's homes between 1950 and 1995. These inquiries and Review have made asignificant impact on policy and practice in Scotland. As such we decided to focus on theprevention of abuse in residential care and providing support for survivors, rather thaninitiating a further inquiry. This was announced in a statement to Parliament by the Ministerfor Children and Early years on 7 February 2008.

You also ask about the issue of time-bar for survivors of historic abuse. The ScottishGovernment asked the Scottish Law Commission to review the position generally and theoutcome of that work was presented to the Scottish Ministers in their detailed report on'Personal Injury Actions: Limitation and Prescribed Claims' in 2007.

More recently, the Scottish Government consulted on issues surrounding damages forpersonal injury. The consultation paper was informed by the Scottish Law Commission reportand recommendations on Limitation and Prescribed Cases and sought views on a number ofissues, including whether the limitation period should be extended from 3 to 5 years andwhether there should be a statutory list of factors for the court to consider when asked toexercise its discretion to allow a case to proceed out with the limitation period. Theconsultation closed in March 2013 and an analysis of the responses has been published.Both documents can be viewed at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2012/12/5980. Aformal response to the consultation is expected in due course.

Taigh Naomh Anndrais, Rathad Regent, Dun Eideann EH1 3DGSt Andrew's House, Regent Road, Edinburgh EH1 3DGwww.scotland.gov.uk INVESTOR Ill' PEOPLE

In your e-mail you mention that the Scottish Government has done a lot of listening over thepast nine years but this has not been translated into the support survivors are seeking. TheScottish Government has listened and recognises the importance of providing support forsurvivors of childhood abuse. That is why we launched the National Strategy for Survivors ofChildhood Abuse (SurvivorScotland) in 2005. This sets out a strategic way forward toimprove services for survivors, to ensure greater priority and joined-up working in nationaland local mainstream services, and improve the lives of all who have suffered childhoodtrauma.

Since 2007 we have provided £6.2 million of funding, through the SurvivorScotland Strategy,to deliver services for survivors as well as to improve knowledge and awareness and todevelop training and skills for frontline workers.

We have also recognised the particular needs of survivors who were in care as children byestablishing a National Confidential Forum later this year. This will give people who wereplaced in institutional care as children the opportunity to share their experiences through aconfidential, supportive and non-judgmental process. The aim of the Forum is to helpimprove the health and wellbeing of people placed in care as children, by offeringacknowledgement of their experiences, including abuse and neglect. I note your concernabout the stigma of the Forum being under the umbrella of the Mental Welfare Commission.When we consulted on the proposal to establish a National Confidential Forum in 2012 andannounced that the Mental Welfare Commission would host the Forum in 2013 no concernswere raised. However, I should like to assure you that the Forum will operate independentlyof both the Scottish Government and the Mental Welfare Commission.

We consider that a lot of support for survivors has been developed since the launch of theNational Strategy in 2005. It recognises, however, that there is still more that can be done.As such, the Scottish Government continues to discuss wider issues and remedies forsurvivors of child abuse as part of the "InterAction" process with the Scottish Human RightsCommission.

I hope this is helpful.

Roseanna Cunningham

Taigh Naomh Anndrais, Rathad Regent, Dun Eideann EHl 3DGSt Andrew's House, Regent Road, Edinburgh EHl 3DGwww.scotland.gov.uk D:VESTOR 1:S PEOPLE