The Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee will conclude its work this Parliament in March 2026 ahead of the next Scottish Parliament election. So the Committee has time to complete its work, it has agreed not to consider petitions submitted after 10 October.
The Committee will continue to meet but given the volume of petitions and agreed work programme it is unlikely that the Committee would be able to meaningfully progress work on petitions submitted after 10 October ahead of the election. Petitions lodged after this date will not fall when the Parliament is dissolved and will be for the successor committee to consider in the new session.
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Closed petition PE1977: Require social services to inform biological fathers of concerns about their children
Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to amend the law and update the National Guidance for Child Protection to require social services to inform biological fathers of concerns about their children
Previous action taken
I contacted David Torrance MSP for help.
Background information
So many kids have died in horrendous circumstances. Currently social services are not required to inform biological fathers/families about concerns within the child's home.
In my family’s experience, social work had been involved for a few months before we were made aware of the concerns. When we asked why we hadn’t been informed sooner, my family were told it was none of our business as the original concern related to another child living in the same household.
I have also become aware of situations where fathers were not informed of child welfare concerns and are now fighting to have their children released from foster care.
How many more kids such as Brandon Muir, Liam Fee or Logan Mwangi must die? Recently, in England, Logan Mwangi’s father stated the situation could have been different if he knew his son was at risk of harm.
We must put a stop to children being left in harmful situations. By introducing this requirement on social services, fathers will be provided with the opportunity to fully exercise their parental rights and responsibilities.
This petition was considered by the Scottish Parliament
5 signatures