Child friendly complaints are a UNCRC requirement

Child friendly complaints update:

The United Nation Convention on the Rights of Children (UNCRC) (Incorporation)(Scotland) Act 2024 made Scotland the first country in the UK, and the first devolved nation in the world, to directly incorporate the UNCRC into domestic law.

This Act ensures that children’s rights are central to policy and decision-making, and that their needs are met by public service complaints procedures in Scotland.

What this means for the Council

A child is defined by the UNCRC as someone under the age of 18 and we are likely to require the child's consent for a complaint to proceed if the service complained about is provided directly to the child.

Where a child may be affected by issues or matters raised in a complaint, we will also likely require to reach out to the child to seek their views as part of the complaint investigation.

Please therefore be mindful that if you are handling a complaint made by, made on behalf of, or in respect of, someone under the age of 18 you should follow the SPSO guidance and principles which can be accessed via the following links on their website:

SPSO Child Friendly Complaint Handling Process Guidance

SPSO Child Friendly Complaints Principles

The complaint pages in Connects and the Two Stage Complaint Handling module in iLearn have been updated to reflect the above and if you require more information, contact Darren Miller, Corporate Complaint Manager.

Published April 30, 2026