Lady Smith has today, 12 May 2020, confirmed that the vital work of SCAI is continuing despite a pause in public hearings as part of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Investigative work, research and analysis, and preparation for announced case studies continue.
Work on analysing the evidence from the Christian Brothers, Benedictines and Marists case studies is well underway. Lady Smith’s findings on each case study will be published as soon as possible.
Since mid-March, when we first had to put in place plans for working remotely, we have been investigating how best to harness technology to allow us to continue taking statements from applicants where this is appropriate.
We are also exploring possible options which might enable us to continue hearing case study evidence remotely with our immediate priority to complete the child migration case study. There are a number of factors to consider before Lady Smith can make a final decision on this and an update will be provided when we are able to do so.
Whilst SCAI is not able to hold face-to-face meetings at the moment, our witness support team continue to operate the ‘Talk to Us’ phone line and are working to support applicants and other witnesses throughout this challenging time.