FAQs

The Inquiry (“SCAI”) can be contacted:

• by post at PO Box 24202, Edinburgh, EH3 1JN
• by email for general inquiries at information@childabuseinquiry.scot

If you would like to talk to someone about giving evidence to the Inquiry, or have a question about any stage of the process of giving evidence, you can contact the Inquiry’s Witness Support Team.  The Inquiry’s Witness Support Team are available as follows:

• email at talktous@childabuseinquiry.scot
• Freephone 0800 0929300.  The phoneline is open Monday to Friday, 1000-1600. 

The Inquiry’s website, containing information including its latest news, guidance and rules, is at www.childabuseinquiry.scot

The Inquiry has been set up to investigate the nature and extent of the abuse of children in care in Scotland.

The details of what SCAI is required to investigate are in our Terms of Reference here.  Those Terms of Reference were set by the Scottish Ministers and the Inquiry has no power to change them or to investigate and/or report on anything that is not covered by them.

Please contact the Inquiry if you think you have relevant evidence to offer. More information can be provided to you by the Inquiry’s Witness Support team on the processes we use to gather and use your evidence.

You can find out how to get in touch with the Inquiry in the Contact Us section of this website.

The Chair has issued a “General Restriction Order” granting anonymity to a wide group of people. If you are not protected by it, you may qualify for a specific restriction order to protect your identity. You would need to make a specific application. For more information about restriction orders, see Restriction Orders - Protocol and Form — Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry

The Terms of Reference set out the matters the Inquiry must consider. The Inquiry cannot look at anything outside its Terms of Reference. The Terms set out the Inquiry’s timescale and require it to make recommendations. Please see the following link - Terms of reference — Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry

The Terms of Reference were set by Scottish Ministers before the Inquiry started, and revised slightly in November 2016. The Terms of Reference were revised again in June 2018. The changes were for clarification and to recognise that, given the nature and extent of the Terms of Reference, it is not realistic to require the Inquiry to issue its final report by a specific date. The final report will be issued “as soon as reasonably practicable [1]”.  In the meantime, the Inquiry has been publishing the Chair’s findings in relation to each case study [2] and will continue to do so.

[1] Terms of Reference paragraph 8.

[2] See, for example, Case Study findings in relation to the provision of residential care for children by the Daughters of Charity, the Sisters of Nazareth, Quarriers, Aberlour and Barnardos, the Christian Brothers, the Benedictines, and the Marist Brothers; also those in relation to the response of Scottish Government to Petition 535.

A statutory inquiry is a public inquiry set up, if in Scotland,  by Scottish Ministers, under the Inquiries Act 2005 (“the 2005 Act”). The 2005 Act provides a comprehensive framework which includes giving the Chair wide powers to enable the Inquiry to be conducted appropriately. Some of the Chair’s duties are stated in the 2005 Act.  The powers of Scottish Ministers in relation to a public inquiry are also stated there, as are certain duties.

Being a statutory inquiry, the Chair also has the powers and duties set out in the Inquiries (Scotland) Rules 2007 (“the 2007 Rules”) and follows those rules in conducting the Inquiry.

“Care” is defined in our Terms of Reference. It means residential care or foster care. The term doesn’t include children who were living with their families or other relatives.

SCAI is directed, by its Terms of Reference, to investigate the abuse of children in care in Scotland over the period from within living memory to 17 December 2014.

SCAI is investigating all forms of abuse including physical, sexual and emotional abuse.

The Chair has no power to award compensation nor has she any power to award or be involved in administering, deciding about or making redress payments. The Inquiries Act 2005 expressly prohibits the Chair from ruling on or awarding compensation.

The operation of the redress scheme is carried out by Scottish Government and Redress Scotland. Scottish Government is responsible for the administration of the scheme and Redress Scotland is responsible for making determinations in response to applications for redress scheme. The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry is wholly independent of both and is not able to have any involvement in the redress scheme.

No, it does not matter whether the person who abused you is alive or dead. You can still give evidence to the Inquiry if your experiences are within our Terms of Reference.

You may be able to do so. Please contact the Inquiry to discuss your situation.

It’s not possible to provide a figure at this stage.  However, the Chair is responsible for making all decisions in relation to the procedure and conduct of the Inquiry and has regard to the need to avoid unnecessary cost when making all such decisions.

Yes. It publishes its expenditure each quarter -  Costs — Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry

The Chair must and will make recommendations. The Terms of Reference require her to do so.

It refers to the record of all the work and outputs of the Inquiry that will, at its close, be transferred to the National Records of Scotland. Please see the following link to read our Terms of Reference - Terms of reference — Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry

No. SCAI also considers abuse experienced by children in care outwith Scotland if their care was arranged in Scotland.

No. The Chair has no power to find that any crimes were committed.

The Chair is in charge of the Inquiry.  The Chair  is The Right Honourable Lady Smith.  The Scottish Ministers appointed the Chair. 

The Chair has a wide range of responsibilities in relation to all  the Inquiry’s activities.  They include making all the decisions about the procedure and conduct of the Inquiry, ensuring its independence, presiding over public hearings, considering the evidence presented to the Inquiry, deciding what facts are established by the evidence, deciding what recommendations need to be made, and publishing her findings and reports.

The Chief Executive is responsible for the day to day running of the Inquiry. Operational teams include a witness support and statement taking team and other teams involved in the Inquiry’s administration. The Inquiry has a legal team (including advocates, solicitors and paralegals) and a research team.

Yes. We have done and continue to do so. It enables learning to be shared amongst similar inquiries and the Chair considers that to be in the public interest.  Inquiries we have engaged with include those in England, the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

The Chair will issue her final report and recommendations as soon as is reasonably practicable.  The Terms of Reference set by Scottish Ministers are so wide that it is not possible to be precise about the time required to investigate thoroughly and respond properly. It is not realistic to give a specific date.

The Inquiry is funded by the Scottish Government.  However, being a public inquiry, it operates entirely independently of Government.

The Inquiry is not a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. As a result, the Act does not apply to the Inquiry. Any requests for information made to the Inquiry under that Act will not be considered.

The Inquiry works in as open and transparent a way as possible. Detailed rules (known as Protocols) and guidance about how it operates are available here Procedures — Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry or by post from the Inquiry.

The Inquiry would like to hear from you. You can get in touch by post, email or phone - Contact Us

If you think you have documents of interest to the Inquiry, please let us know. You can contact us about this by email at information@childabuseinquiry.scot. We will discuss with you what documents you have and whether we need to see them.

The Inquiry asks all those who suffered abuse and others who may have evidence in relation to the matters covered in its Terms of Reference to contact the Inquiry. Witnesses who have evidence to offer about being abused when in care as a child (known as “applicants”) may be offered a “private session” . For what happens at a private session, see Private session — Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry . Other witnesses may be interviewed. Written statements are prepared after private sessions and interviews and reviewed with the witnesses before they are asked to sign them. Witnesses may also provide their own written statement. If you were abused in an establishment which is not on our list of current investigations the Inquiry is still keen to take evidence from you.

In relation to establishments which we are investigating, the Inquiry also obtains other forms of evidence, including historical records, documents and expert reports.  The Inquiry usually requires the organisation(s) responsible for those establishments to provide evidence about a number of matters including their knowledge of abuse having taken place.  Where an establishment is included in a case study, the Inquiry usually also requires witnesses who are or were involved in the organisation to appear at public hearings to give evidence.

All relevant evidence will be considered, analysed and used as appropriate including during hearings, when preparing findings, when preparing any interim reports and when preparing the final report and recommendations.

Witness statements referred to and/or read in during hearings will normally be published on the website as will transcripts of the oral evidence given by witnesses. The Chair’s case study findings, any interim reports and her final report and recommendations will also be published. Some parts of these documents may be blacked out (“redacted”) , for example to protect the identities of those who are entitled to anonymity.

Yes.

We hope all witnesses will co-operate with the Inquiry, but the Chair of the Inquiry can issue an order requiring a person to provide evidence by, for example, attending a hearing to do so, or providing a written statement. Failure to comply with such an order may be a criminal offence.

We have to share the identity of anyone who we are told has abused children with the police. Any information we receive which suggests that anyone is at risk of harm or that there is a risk to their life is also shared with the police. For more information on when we report information to the police see our Protocol on Restriction Orders

Most witnesses will not require legal representation to participate in the Inquiry. Nor is it  necessary for an applicant to have a lawyer with them at a private session.

Any witness may, however, wish to  instruct a lawyer, at their own expense, if they want to do so.

The Inquiry cannot provide legal representation or help a witness to choose or instruct a lawyer.

Yes. The Inquiry has a Witness Support team who have been trained to provide appropriate advice and assistance to witnesses through all stages of their engagement with the Inquiry. The Witness Support team can be contacted on 0800 0939 200.

A core participant is a person or organisation that has a significant interest in the whole work of the Inquiry or an important aspect of it. Guidance on how to apply to be a core participant is available on the website - Core participants — Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry

For the current list of core participants see the core participant page of our website - Core participants — Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry

Core participants and others can apply for an award for funding for legal representation. The rules that apply and an application form can be found at  Protocol - cost-of-legal-representation on the website and may also be obtained by post from the Inquiry.

SCAI investigates the wide range of matters covered by its Terms of Reference. Having considered the outcome of those investigations including all the documentary evidence recovered and the statements provided,  SCAI decides which aspects are so important that they ought to be presented at a public hearing during which witnesses will give oral evidence and statements may be read into evidence. For information about our current investigations, see: Investigations — Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry and for witness statements, Witness Statements — Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry

The public will usually  be able to attend public hearings. For more information see our Practice Guideline on Hearings

Please see our section on Covid-19 for the current Covid-19 measures in place for those taking part in our Hearings, Hearings - Covid19 — Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry

There are no plans for either at present. Any media organisation wishing to do so will require to make a specific application and if the Chair is considering granting it, she will not do so without first consulting those likely to be participating at the time of any filming.

Persons or organisations wishing to participate in and/or be represented at any time during a case study should apply for “Leave to Appear”. Further details are provided here 

Yes. Please contact our media team at 3x1 to obtain accreditation. Contact details for 3x1 are shown at the bottom of this website.

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