Children's Minister Adam Ingram has announced that former Children's Panel member Bernadette Monaghan has been appointed as the first National Convener of Children's Hearings Scotland.
Currently Director of the Third Sector Skills Partnership, Ms Monaghan brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from senior management roles within the voluntary sector, including, Sacro and Apex and the Third Sector Skills Partnership, and from her background in law and criminology.
Children's Hearings Scotland is a new Executive Non-Departmental Public Body created under the Children's Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011, and will support the National Convener in the delivery of her functions. The process of setting up this body is currently underway.
The appointment of the National Convener is an essential milestone in implementing the Children's Hearings Act, and wider reforms, as the post requires taking responsibility for setting standards, monitoring implementation, along with recruitment, support and training of Scotland's army of 2,500 panel members.
This appointment will be for five years and will run from 1st April 2011 to 31st March 2016.
