Commentary on Provisions Part 1 – children’s hearings system Section 9 – support for victims in the children’s hearings system
54.Section 9 amends the 2011 Act to insert a new section 179D. This requires the Scottish Ministers, by regulations,(37) to make provision for support services for the persons, mentioned in section 179D(2), who are entitled to request information under section 179A about the action taken by the Principal Reporter and the children’s hearing in relation to a child who has committed an offence against them or otherwise acted or behaved in a physically violent, sexually violent or sexually coercive, or dangerous, threatening or abusive way and that has harmed the person. The regulations must specify one person or body who is to act as a point of contact for those persons to access support services. What is to constitute “support services”, besides the provision of “relevant information” to the persons mentioned in section 179D(2), is to be set out in the regulations themselves.(38) Section 179D(4) contains an non-exhaustive list of the things that can be provided for in regulations. Section 179D(5) also enables the regulations to modify sections 179A to 179C of the 2011 Act to provide for the information set out in section 179B to be given automatically on an opt-out basis (rather than on request), to be given to the person providing support services (whether as well as, or instead of, to the persons mentioned in section 179D(2)), or to be given by the person providing support services instead of by the Principal Reporter directly. Before laying draft regulations before the Scottish Parliament for approval, subsection (6) requires the Scottish Ministers to consult a number of persons and bodies, including victim support organisations.(39)