Age of Criminal Responsibility: learning event report 2025

8 Jul 2025 02:12 PM

The Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019 (‘the Act’) raised the age of criminal responsibility in Scotland from 8 to 12 years which is the highest age of all UK nations. The Act fully commenced in December 2021 and places a duty on Scottish Ministers to review the operation of the Act.

Background of the Act

The Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019 (‘the Act’) raised the age of criminal responsibility in Scotland from 8 to 12 years which is the highest age of all UK nations. The Act fully commenced in December 2021 and placed a duty on Scottish Ministers to review the operation of the Act, with a view to considering any potential future age of criminal responsibility within three years of commencement.

The three-year review period started on 17 December 2021, the day that Section 1 came into force and concluded on 16 December 2024.

An Advisory Group was established to support Ministers with the review and in December 2024 provided Ministers with a report detailing the findings and recommendations for any future age of criminal responsibility in Scotland.

Ministers are currently considering the findings of the review and are required to report to the Scottish Parliament on any future age of criminal responsibility in Scotland by December 2025.

Purpose of Learning Event

There has been two previous Learning Events in 2023 and 2024 to reflect on the learning from both pre and post commencement of the Act, how its operation has been in practice and what work would be required to support Ministers with the review. Both reports can be accessed on the ACR Advisory Group webpage and were attended by a variety of stakeholders, some of whom have responsibilities under the current Act. The events have allowed so stakeholders to exchange experiences, lessons and expertise across a range of services, professions and disciplines.

The third and most recent Learning Event took place in February 2025. That brought key delivery partners together to discuss the learning from the final year of the review and to discuss what is required to support any future age of criminal responsibility.

Learning event delegates – the key stakeholders

Key delivery partners and stakeholders attended from a number of organisations including:

• Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise
• Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ)
• Police Scotland
• Social Work Scotland
• Representatives from a number of local authority Social Work departments (East Lothian, North and South Lanarkshire, Fife, North and South Ayrshire, Falkirk, Highland, Orkney, Aberdeenshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Angus, East Dunbartonshire and Inverclyde)
• Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA)
• Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
• Scottish Government
• Child Interview Rights Practitioners (ChIRPs)
• Children's Hearings Scotland (CHS)
• Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB)
• Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
• Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service
• Victim Support Scotland
• Action for Children

Summary of the Programme

The programme consisted of the following keynote speakers:

• Opening remarks from the Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise.
• Bairn’s Hoose and ACR, joint presentations from Rachel Hewitt from Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Ali McAlpine from Aberdeen City Council and Alison Wishart from Edinburgh City Council.
• Gordon Main, Our Hearings Our Voices, presented on the power of language in Children’s Hearings.
• Carolann Anderson from Centre for Justice for Children’s Care and Protection (CELCIS) who presented on the development of a Case Study on a child’s journey of ACR.
• Ross Gibson from Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ) presented on the Care and Risk Management (CARM) framework.
• Neill Mitchell, Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) and chair of the Operational Implications Subgroup, spoke about the operational implications of raising the ACR to a higher age.
• Fiona Dyer, Director of Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ) and chair of the Data and Research Subgroup presented on the existing data and research.
• Fiona Steel, Director of Action for Children and chair of the Community Confidence subgroup spoke about the work of the group on public perceptions of ACR.
• Tom McNamara, Scottish Government, provided an overview on the work of the Victims Support Subgroup in absence of Carol Eden, chair of the Victim Support Subgroup.

Click here for the full press release