Read our latest news stories.
New study finds that children need lawyers who are easily accessible, available when needed, and who will take the time to get to know them "over chips and cheese". Read more
Clan Childlaw is proud to have been involved in a new project to help inform care experienced young people about their continuing care rights. Read more
13 Jul 2022 | We are pleased that a Street Legal case has been successful in the highest civil court in Scotland in challenging City of Edinburgh Council’s refusal to accept a homeless application from a family. Read more
27 Jun 2022 | Clan Childlaw has submitted a response to the Scottish Government consultation on the Children's Care and Justice Bill. Our submission focused on the need to uphold the human rights of children who are in conflict with the law in Scotland. Read more
25 May 2022 | Yesterday the Scottish Government announced how it plans to bring the UNCRC Bill within the Scottish Parliament’s devolved powers following the Supreme Court ruling in October 2021. Read more
The Scottish Government is working on new laws aimed at preventing homelessness. Clan Childlaw is concerned that the proposals could represent a serious loss of rights for 16- and 17-year-olds who are experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness. Read more
Scottish law around evictions changed on 30 March and some of the protections that were in place during the pandemic have been removed. The new law applies to all tenants who are asked to leave their home after this date. Read more
Clan Childlaw is launching a project to explore the need for specialist rights-focused lawyers to work alongside criminal lawyers to uphold the human rights of children who are in conflict with the law. Read more
The legal aid system in Scotland expects children and young people to navigate a complicated system which is not designed to meet their needs. Clan Childlaw is calling for changes to create a more child-friendly and accessible legal aid system. Read more
The age at which a child can be charged with a crime has risen from 8 to 12. Clan Childlaw welcomes this change but cautions that Scotland should be aiming much higher. Read more
Funding from the Scottish Government will support the expansion of Clan Childlaw's work to reduce the number of care leavers experiencing homelessness. Read more
Clan Childlaw co-hosted a webinar with Who Cares? Scotland to help support implementation of the new Scottish laws on brothers and sisters in care. A free recording of the webinar is now available. Read more
Press Release: 26 July 2021. On 26 July, the law is changing as the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 and changing regulations give new rights to siblings in Scotland. The new law emphasises the importance of ensuring brothers and sisters live together whenever possible. Read more
Children and young people, including care leavers, must apply to the EU Settlement scheme if they are an EU, EEA or Swiss national. The deadline to apply is 30 June 2021. Read more
Clan Childlaw warmly welcomes the publication of Plan 21-24, the first of three plans which will implement The Promise over a ten-year period. Read more
Children's Hearings Rules are changing to make sure brothers and sisters can give their views when decisions are being made which affect them seeing each other. Join us to hear more about the Rule changes on 19th April. Read more
Find out what you need to know about tenancies and evictions during Covid-19 Read more
25th August 2020: Today the Scottish Parliament passed the Children (Scotland) Bill, an important step forward for children's rights and legal protection for children's sibling relationships. Read more
We are supportive of proposed amendments to the Children (Scotland) Bill. Stage 3 proceedings will take place in the Scottish Parliament on 25th August. Read more
Lucy Frazer and Alison Reid from Clan Childlaw were joined by Lynda Brabender QC who represented ABC in the Supreme Court for a Child Law Network panel discussion exploring what the decision means for young people who would like to be part of children’s hearings being held for their brothers and sisters. Read more
We've launched a series of recorded presentations and toolkits on legal issues our solicitors are helping care experienced children and young people with during the Covid-19 pandemic. The resources are free to download and explain the law, how to recognise when there's a legal issue, and steps to take to assert rights. Read more
18th June 2020: The Supreme Court today published its judgment in relation to Clan Childlaw’s leading case involving the rights of brothers and sisters in children’s hearings. Read our response to the judgment here. Read more
Young people in Scotland can now get free expert legal advice to tackle homelessness from Clan Childlaw’s new Housing Law Response Project. Read more
The research led by Prof. Kay Tisdall and Dr Fiona Morrison in which Clan Childlaw participated found a number of barriers and challenges to children’s participation in family proceedings in Scotland. Read more