Project updates

In September 2009 the Scottish Government gave approval for a Pilot Forum, now known as Time to be Heard, to test out a Confidential Committee to hear testimony from adults who had formerly been residents of Quarriers, with the aim of making recommendations on the wider rollout of such a forum.

The aims of Time to be Heard were:

• To listen to former residents
• To acknowledge and record their experiences
• To provide a historical record of their experiences
• To signpost available services for survivors and support, advocacy, advice and information about these services
• To enable lessons to be learned which can assist in the further improvement of residential services for children, including protection from harm
• To test out a particular model - a Confidential Committee model

We would firstly like to thank Tom Shaw, the Chair of Time to be Heard and Dr Anne Carpenter and Kathleen Marshall, the Commissioners for the skill and care they brought to the hearings with participants, the thorough arrangements established for Time to be Heard and the excellent Report that provides valuable observations on finding a way forward for survivors of in-care abuse and other residents in child-care institutions.

We are pleased that the Pilot Forum has proved so successful. We have already indicated our support for a national confidential forum. The Time to be Heard report helps to inform our views on what needs to happen next and provides an invaluable model for the national confidential forum to follow.

In responding to this, the Scottish Government has considered in detail each of the main recommendations identified by the Chair and Commissioners of Time to be Heard and how these can be or are being put into practice.

The valuable lessons learned from the Time to be Heard pilot forum will undoubtedly help in the development of a full national confidential forum in the future.

Download the full report: