Thank you, convener, for the chance to say a few words about the order.
The order sets out what a care or health service means for the purpose of eligibility to take part in the national confidential forum. Members may recall that, at stage 2 of the bill that became the Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014, I made a commitment to the committee that we would aim to offer the opportunity to take part in the forum to as many people as possible who were in institutional care as children in Scotland.
The order meets that commitment, and we have sought to prescribe as broad a range of care and health services as possible. We have also tried to reflect the different types of care and health services that have existed in the past 80 years. We want to ensure that everyone who is alive today who was in institutional care as a child at any time can take part in the forum.
The order makes no distinction between private and public providers of institutional care, nor does it distinguish between arrangements made by the state and private arrangements made by families. In that respect it is, again, designed to enable as many people as possible who were in institutional care as children to participate regardless of their circumstances.
The order potentially includes services that were not designed exclusively or mainly for children. We know that children have in the past been placed in adult facilities, including prisons and poor law institutions. In article 2, the order prescribes
“health services provided in—
(a) a hospital;
(b) an independent clinic;
(c) a sanatorium.”
A range of care services are prescribed in article 3, which members can find on page 2 of the order.
The prescribed services in the order should be read alongside the conditions that are set out in the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 with regard to eligibility to participate in the forum. For example, one of the conditions is that the care or health service in question included residential accommodation for children.
I reiterate that the intention is to include a wide range of services to make the forum as accessible as possible, and I am happy to answer any points that the committee wishes to raise.