The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (the Inquiry) is currently investigating the nature and extent of the abuse of children in care in Scotland. The Inquiry is chaired by The Right Honourable Lady Smith KC PC, a retired senior judge.
The Inquiry is looking at:
- the effects of abuse on children in care, and their families
- whether those responsible for children in care failed in their duties
- whether any such failures have been addressed
- whether further changes to practice, policy, or legislation are required.
Many individuals have already given evidence, and many more are likely to do so as the Inquiry continues its work.
Providing a statement to the Inquiry
Where a person applies to give evidence to the Inquiry about their time in care, the Inquiry will normally meet with them at a ‘private session’. During this session, the person can be asked about their experiences. What they tell the Inquiry is then written down in a statement.
The Inquiry usually meets again with the person to review their statement. Any changes the person wants to make are incorporated into it. Once they have agreed that what is in their statement is correct, they will be asked to sign it to confirm that it is true and accurate. The statement of any witness is evidence to the Inquiry.
All witnesses who provide statements to the Inquiry are supported throughout each stage of the process by one of the Inquiry’s witness support officers. As with all members of the Inquiry team, the Inquiry’s witness support officers are trained in trauma-informed working. Further information is available.
Using Inquiry statements when making an application to Scotland’s Redress Scheme
Survivors applying to Scotland’s Redress Scheme sometimes ask if they can include a copy of their Inquiry statement, or if Redress Scotland’s panel members can read their statement on the Inquiry website.
Witness statements are normally published on the Inquiry’s website. The identity of the author, and others, may be protected from disclosure under the Chair’s General Restriction Order. If so, any information in the statement that could identify them will usually have been redacted by this information being blacked out. Even if the author of the statement has not chosen to remain anonymous, redactions will still have been made to protect the identities of others.
The author of an Inquiry statement can receive an unredacted copy of their statement, but this must not be disclosed to or by anyone. This is so that all the identities protected by the General Restriction Order remain protected.
Survivors and Redress Scotland must comply with the General Restriction Order. Failure to do so may result in referral to the court. This is why an unredacted Inquiry statement must not be submitted with a redress application.
However, survivors can use their Inquiry statement as a source of information when writing their statement of abuse. This means they do not have to start again from the beginning when they are completing their application to the Redress Scheme. Survivors may want to use the same wording from their Inquiry statement when writing their statement of abuse for their application to the Redress Scheme.
Further information
Please contact the following :
The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry – for more information on the Inquiry, including the General Restriction Order, and the use of Inquiry statements in applications.
Redress Scotland – for more information on how Redress Scotland makes decisions, Scotland’s Redress Scheme, and the use of Inquiry statements in applications.