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Scotland's unique and much-admired children's hearings system is now well over 30 years old, so perhaps it is hardly surprising that some feel it is due for an overhaul.

Last year the Scottish executive began an extensive review of the whole system by gauging people's views on what areas work well and what needs to be updated and improved.

The result was the consultation paper Getting it right for every child, published at the end of June, which stresses that children should only be referred to children's hearings when compulsory measures are required.

It also proposes rewriting the grounds for referral so that they focus on the "significant need" of a child, rather than one particular offence or incident.

At the same time, the Scottish executive outlined plans to streamline services for children at risk, including:

* Allocating vulnerable children one lead professional to co-ordinate action
* Introducing one action plan and one set of paperwork for each child
* Placing agencies under a legal duty to ensure young people get the support and care they need, with those failing being called before a sheriff
* Listening to young people's views and building these into action plans

Minister for education and young people Peter Peacock maintains there are a number of good reasons for reforming the hearings system. "The number of referrals on offence grounds has doubled and those on non-offence grounds have gone up by about 50 per cent," he says. "So a system that was dealing with 46,000 kids in 2003/04 is now dealing with nearly 80,000 and that is not sustainable."

Peacock claims one reason too many children are being referred is because not enough action is being taken by agencies at a local level to prevent it from happening in the first place.

"Part of the consequence of that is that kids get referred into the hearings system, which then tries to provide the co-ordination and delivery of certain services that ought to happen as a matter of good practice."


He denies that the changes are about cutting costs by raising the threshold for hearings, insisting: "We are setting out to get a more effective system and to release resources into more therapeutic, good practice relationships, rather than spending time filling in bits of paper."

Child care charity Children 1st welcomes moves to ensure that children should only appear before a hearing where compulsory measures are needed.

"We also agree with increased powers for the reporter to ensure that support, where appropriate, is available without compulsion or proceeding to a hearing," says the charity's director of children's and family services, Maggie Mellon.

NCH Scotland believes the reforms are heading in the right direction and could lead to a more effective system.

However, assistant director of public policy David Turnbull warns: "One of the problems identified in the first phase of the review was the lack of resources to translate panel decisions into action and, at the end of the day, resources are the key issue.

"Social work agencies could be punished if they don't provide proper support and I'm not sure that's the solution.

"But the issue will remain a high priority politically - it can't be ignored. And that will be a good thing in the long run for the children's hearing system."