Children in Scotland/UNICEF, Children's Rights Audit

That the Parliament notes the publication of the Children’s Rights Audit compiled by Children in Scotland and UNICEF which provides an overview of Scottish Executive and Parliamentary activity in relation to children and young people in the context of objectives set by the Scottish Executive and in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; further notes, that, while the Audit commends the breadth and depth of children’s policy activity undertaken, applauds the fact that the UN Convention is gaining increased currency in political discussions and is supportive of the consensual approach in Parliamentary debates, it also highlights areas for improvement and in particular recommends that a children’s agenda should be brought together for Scotland which is based on key principles and outcomes to then bring together a range of objectives and targets, that the Child Strategy Statement should be strengthened by making it pro-active with monitoring and public reporting, that the involvement of children and young people in the national policy making process needs to be meaningful and systematic and that young people’s own issues such as a national strategy for youth cafes/facilities should be placed on the political agenda, and considers that the Scottish Executive should actively address these issues.