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xPre-Budget scrutiny 2024-25 consultation
Date: 17th July 2023
Category:
Disability, Basic Health and Welfare, General measures of implementation
Closing date: 25th August 2023
The Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee has launched a short survey to help inform its Pre-Budget scrutiny 2024-25. The focus of the survey is human rights budgeting, with an emphasis on public engagement.
Scottish Parliament wants to involve the public more on its scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s spending, find out how much the public knows about the Budget and how it affects them through this consultation.
This is part of the Committee’s three-year plan to focus on human rights budgeting in its where they will consider three fundamental principles: participation, transparency and accountability.
In our State of Children’s Rights Report submitted to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Together expressed the need for Scottish Government and the UK Government to take a child rights-based approach to budgeting. In the UN Committee’s review of the UK and Scotland it recommended that the UKand devolved administrations incorporate a child rights-based approach into their budgeting processesand also;
- “Implement a tracking system for the allocation, use and monitoring of resources for children, with a view to eliminating disparities and ensuring equitability, and assess how investments in all sectors serve the best interests of children;
- “Introduce budgetary allocations for children in disadvantaged situations and ensure that children are not affected by austerity measures;
- “Ensure that, in situations of economic crisis, regressive measures are not taken without meeting the requirements set out in paragraph 31 of the Committee’s general comment No. 19 (2016) on public budgeting for the realization of children’s rights, including that children participate in the decision-making process relating to such measures;
- Ensure transparent and participatory budgeting in which civil society, the public and children can participate effectively.”
While we welcome the Scottish Parliament’s commitment to considering participation, transparency and accountability for human rights budgeting, they must also consider the impact it has on children and their rights and involve them in the process too by ensuring child rights are integrated into wider approaches.
- Find the consultation here.
- To learn more about human rights budgeting specifically in the realm of children’s rights, there is new research on Child Rights Budgeting in Scotland - Recommendations for Fulfilment of Legal Obligations which can be found here.
- Find out more about the UN Committee’s recommendations for the UK and Scotland here (look out for out child-friendly version, coming soon!)