Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Act 2021

PART 6 Reporting on wider redress actions

99 Annual report on wider redress actions

(1) Before the end of the period of 2 months beginning with the last day of each reporting period, a relevant person must prepare and send to the Scottish Ministers a report on the actions which the person has taken during the reporting period to redress the historical abuse of children (a “redress report”).

(2) A redress report must, in particular, include—

(a) information about any support which the relevant person has provided for individuals who were abused as children, for example—

(i) funding for emotional, psychological or practical support,

(ii) advice and assistance on accessing historical records,

(iii) advice and assistance on tracing and reuniting families,

(iv) activity relating to the provision of an apology to such individuals,

(b) such information as the relevant person considers appropriate about any other support which the relevant person has provided for individuals who were abused as children,

(c) where no support as described in paragraphs (a) and (b) has been provided by the relevant person, the reasons why.

(3) But a redress report must not, unless and to the extent that subsection (4) applies, include—

(a) the name of any individual, or

(b) any other information which could reasonably be used to identify any individual.

(4) This subsection applies where—

(a) the relevant person consults an individual, and

(b) that individual gives the relevant person notification of the individual’s consent to be identified in the report.

(5) The Scottish Ministers must—

(a) collate the information from the redress reports sent to them under subsection (1) into a combined report for the year to which the reports relate, and

(b) publish the combined report.

(6) Where a person prepares a redress report and sends it to the Scottish Ministers despite not having a duty under subsection (1) to do so, the Scottish Ministers may collate the information from that report into the combined report to be published under subsection (5).

(7) In this section—

• “relevant person” means, in relation to a reporting period, a person included in the contributor list during the first 9 months of the reporting period,

• “reporting period” means—

  (a)

  in the case of the first redress report, the period of 12 months beginning with the day this section comes into force,

  (b)

  each successive period of 12 months until a date specified in regulations made by the Scottish Ministers.

100 Power of the Scottish Ministers to require production of report

(1) This section applies where—

(a) the Scottish Ministers consider that a person has a duty under section 99(1) to prepare a redress report and send it to Ministers, and has failed to comply with that duty, or

(b) an application for a redress payment which results in an offer of a redress payment involves a person (other than an individual) who is not included in the contributor list on the date the panel appointed under section 35 or, as the case may be, a review panel appointed under section 55 determines that the applicant is eligible for the redress payment.

(2) The Scottish Ministers may give a direction (a “reporting direction”) requiring the person to prepare a redress report and send it to Ministers before the end of—

(a) the period of 3 months beginning with the date on which the direction was given, or

(b) such longer period as Ministers specify in the direction.

(3) A person to whom a reporting direction is given must comply with it.

(4) If the Scottish Ministers consider that a person to whom a reporting direction is given has failed to comply with it, they may publish the fact that the person has failed to do so.

(5) The Scottish Ministers may revise or revoke a reporting direction.

101 Power to make provision about additional redress reporting

The Scottish Ministers may by regulations make provision requiring a person who is a relevant person for the purpose of section 99 to include an additional statement in—

(a) the person’s annual report, or

(b) an equivalent document,

on the support as described in paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 99(2) which the person has provided during a period specified in the regulations or, where no such support has been provided, that fact and the reasons why.