Scotland’s outgoing children’s tsar has said he is “really disappointed” with First Minister Humza Yousaf’s commitment to protecting rights.
Bruce Adamson also said Yousaf’s predecessor Nicola Sturgeon had “absolutely” failed to deliver on her promises to kids and young people.
Adamson, who stands down later this year, works to protect the human rights of children and youngsters.
In a damning exit with the BBC, he blasted SNP First Ministers for their record on improving the lives of the vulnerable.
In post, Sturgeon did not significantly narrow the educational attainment gap and saw an attempt to incorporate a children’s charter into Scots law get knocked back in the courts.
Asked if the previous First Minister had failed, Adamson said: “Absolutely.”
He said: “I think that there’s real questions to be asked, and answered, by the Scottish Government in particular, but also local authorities and others about why we haven’t delivered on those promises to children and young people.
“When government is making decisions around things like funding, and we’ve had discussions about things like free school meals, we’ve had discussions around mental health counselling in schools, there’s some real failures there.”
He said of Yousaf: “I think the new First Minister made some big promises before becoming First Minister, but we’ve not seen anything on delivering those.
“I’m really disappointed that he didn’t mention children’s rights in his big vision for Scotland statement to Parliament. It was only mentioned really briefly in the written document.
“I’m hugely concerned that action isn’t following the words.”
Adamson was scathing about the failure of the Government to bring back alternative proposals following the Supreme Court’s rejection of Holyrood’s children’s rights bill: “I’m hugely concerned. There’s been a year and a half of prevarication and delay from the Scottish Government.
“We were expecting it back by Christmas. Eighteen months later, we’ve got no time frame. There’s no sight of the amendments that are needed.
“It’s a piece of legislation about accountability and maybe no one wants to be held to account.
Labour MSP Martin Whitfield said: “This significant intervention from Bruce Adamson has punctured the SNP’s baseless assertion to have improved the lives of young people and revealed it as empty spin.
“The facts are clear for all to see – child poverty has persisted, the attainment gap remains and care-experienced young people are not getting the support they need.
“The record of Nicola Sturgeon is one of failure and missed opportunity.
“Humza Yousaf needs to stop patting his broken party on the back and start working to improve the lives of young people.
“At the next election, only Labour is standing to kick out the Tories and deliver the change that all of Scotland – including our young people – need.”
Tory MSP Meghan Gallacher said: “This was a devastatingly brutal assessment of how the SNP have failed Scotland’s youngsters, by the Children’s Commissioner.
“Bruce Adamson was crystal clear that children in Scotland are worse off now than when he took up the post six years ago.
“From SNP ministers’ broken promise to eliminate the poverty-related attainment gap in education, to their dithering and playing politics over the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, his dismay and frustration was palpable.
“In this area, as in so many others, the actions of the SNP government fall dismally short of their grand words.”
An SNP spokesperson said: “The SNP in government has taken bold actions to tackle child poverty – from introducing policies like the baby box and the game changing Scottish Child Payment which are making a significant difference to children and young people across the Scotland.
“With the limited powers at its disposal, the SNP will continue to do all we can to build a better Scotland but we could so much more if we had the full powers of an independent country and weren’t held back by having to mitigate the brutal impact of Westminster control.”
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