People who were in care as children have been waiting for months to get access to records from Falkirk Council with two new jobs being created to handle demand.
Now, with a recent increase in requests due to the ongoing Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, members of Falkirk Council's children, young people and education executive have agreed to create the new posts to tackle the backlog.
The staff will be part of an Information Rights team dedicated to collating and preparing the information which is often lengthy, complex and distressing for those who want to know more about the details of their lives in the past.
Councillors heard that the council has been struggling to meet its statutory obligation to give people access to their records, particularly during the pandemic when social work staff were on the frontline.
Those making subject access requests (SARs) often want to see all the historic information held about their childhood, with records that can relate to involvement in child protection processes or their care history.
And the number of people seeking access to their records is very likely to increase in the months and years ahead.
The ongoing Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry was set up in October 2015 to investigate the nature and extent of abuse of children in care in Scotland within the period of living memory of any person who suffered abuse up until December 17, 2014.
The massive investigation is expected to hear evidence until at least 2025 before it reports to Scottish Ministers with recommendations about any changes it considers necessary to protect children in the future.
Requests for files are also expected as a result of a scheme that aims to provide survivors of historical child abuse in care in Scotland with some financial redress, without having to endure the ordeal of a court trial to add to the trauma.
Members were told at the meeting last week that Falkirk Council - like all other Scottish local authorities - is already seeing an increase in requests from individuals to access their childhood social work records.
Data Protection officer Wendy Barber said: "As we've see the enquiry progress, we've seen more requests for records - some directly from the enquiry but some from children - adults now - who have been placed in care settings by the council or our predecessors."
The other driving force behind the new posts is 'The Promise' - a pledge made by the Scottish Government to improve the lives of care experienced people.
The records also often contain highly sensitive material - and one recommendation contained in The Promise is that people accessing their care records must be properly supported.
Often it will mean finding out details about their family history and life experiences that they had no knowledge of - and long delays in getting the information will only add to the ordeal.
Ms Barber said: "We very much want to support people through the process - not just leave them to send requests in and then hear nothing, but keep them advised throughout the process and give them records in a meaningful form."
Ms Barber said that having the specialist officers to undertake the work won't just clear the backlog, but will also make it easier to provide proper support to a "gold standard."
The education executive unanimously agreed that the new posts should be approved.
The Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Act 2021 received Royal Assent in April last year. Redress Scotland, the public body which will makes decisions on levels of financial redress awarded to survivors of historical child abuse in care has no connection with the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry. The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry has no input or influence over levels of financial redress.
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