EQUALITY NETWORK - Your Rights

06/10/2009
Hate crime
Hate crime is defined as crime motivated by malice or ill will towards a social group. There is clear evidence of hate crime against LGBT people in Scotland. Scotland currently has the least progressive law on hate crime of any part of the UK, but that will change in a few months time. more

07/10/2009
Housing
The law provides tenants with certain rights and bans discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and transsexual identity. The law also protects homeowners in some circumstances and gives some protection to homeless people. more

19/03/2008
Myself and my partner (both female) would like to foster kids but from all I'm reading and being told it seems that same sex couples in scotland are not allowed to foster in this country. Is this still the case and if so, how can we challenge this and change it? Any advice would be welcome.
In Scotland, fostering is still covered by the Fostering of Children (Scotland) Regulations 1996. The regulations will change in early 2009 when the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act becomes law. The Scottish Government ran a consultation earlier this year on the old fostering regulations, to which the Equality Network responded in March 2008. more

03/19/2008
Myself and my partner (both female) would like to foster kids but from all I'm reading and being told it seems that same sex couples in scotland are not allowed to foster in this country. Is this still the case and if so, how can we challenge this and change it? Any advice would be welcome.
In Scotland, fostering is still covered by the Fostering of Children (Scotland) Regulations 1996. The regulations will change in early 2009 when the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act becomes law. The Scottish Government ran a consultation earlier this year on the old fostering regulations, to which the Equality Network responded in March 2008.

In Scotland, fostering is still covered by the Fostering of Children (Scotland) Regulations 1996.

The relevant regulation (Regulation 12) specifies that a local authority can only make a fostering placement if the foster carers are either a married couple or a man or a woman living alone.

The text of the law says:

"the local authority shall not foster a child with a person except where the household of the person comprises-
(a) a man and a woman living and acting jointly together; or
(b) a man or a woman living and acting alone, provided that a person shall not be disqualified by virtue of this regulation where the household also comprises other relatives of the person who are not themselves concerned in the undertaking to care for the child."

The Scottish Government say this will be changed when the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act becomes law, since although this Act does not deal with fostering directly, the changes to adoption law would require changes to fostering regulations.

The Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act got Royal Assent early in 2007, and the Scottish Government say it will become law early in 2009, but have not given an exact date.

If you and your partner want to become foster parents after the law changes, it may be worth now contacting your local authority directly to make enquiries: the local authority cannot refuse to assess you as a potential foster couple, even if according to the letter of the law in Scotland, local authorities are not yet allowed to make foster placements where the foster parents will be a same-sex couple.

You can read the Equality Network's response to the Scottish Government's recent consultation on the fostering laws at www.Equality-Network.org/YourScotland/Briefings.