Scotland selects first children’s commissioner

Scotland’s first commissioner for children and young people has
been announced, writes Maggie Wood.

The appointment of Kathleen Marshall, a child law consultant at
Glasgow University’s centre for the child and society, is
expected to be approved by the Scottish parliament later this week.
Marshall will take up her post in April.

Established under the Commissioner and Young People (Scotland)
Act 2003, the children’s commissioner will be responsible for
promoting and safeguarding the rights of children and young people.
The commissioner will be independent of the parliament.

Marshall said: “I know how hard people have worked for
this day, and I feel very privileged at being nominated. I look
forward to working with the children and young people of Scotland
to make Scotland a better place for all of us.”

Marshall also works as a Research Consultant to Lord Clyde, the
justice oversight commissioner appointed to oversee criminal
justice reforms arising out of the Good Friday Agreement in
Northern Ireland, and was the director of the Scottish Child Law
Centre in the early 1990s.