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Alistair Gaw from Social Work Scotland says staff will have to be supported through the legal processes.

The repercussions go beyond just compensation and the costs will include administrating and managing the process.

Lauren Bruce from COSLA says the impact will not be uniform across the country.

Ms Bruce says it will not be one method developed across all 32 local authorities. 

Vladimir Valiente from SOLAR agrees there will be a significant impact on local authorities.    

Labour MSP Mary Fee says COSLA has pointed out that there will be a financial and administrative burden to local authorities. 

Ms Fee asks what impact there will be on other services.

Alistair Gaw from Social Work Scotland says a lot of survivors are still receiving services at the moment from both local authorities and the NHS. 

Mr Gaw says many of them may be in the system already. 

He says getting a hold of information is extremely difficult, particularly if it dates back to before electronic files were being kept. 

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Det Ch Supt Lesley Boal QPM, from Police Scotland says even the recent child abuse in football revelations led to 140 referrals to Police Scotland and 36 investigations raised and well over 100 victims.

Lauren Bruce from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) says the estimate  was conservative.

Ms Bruce says regardless of the number of claims that goes forwards the impact on local authorities will be larger, due to FOIs and queries for information.

She says it is very difficult to predict how many cases there will be and what the impact will be, but it could be massive for local authorities.

Detective Chief Superintendent Lesley Boal QPM, from Police Scotland says the vast majority of abuse is in households. 

Det Ch Supt Boal says Police Scotland hold files on 4,400 victims in Strathclyde.

Mr Finnie asks if retention policy is being looked at.

Det Ch Supt Boal says, in terms of retention, Police Scotland is not disposing of anything within the current time frames.

She says if this Bill is not just going to take into account those in a care or institution setting, then there are around 4,400 victims that Police Scotland are aware of in Stratchclyde, so the number could be doubled, but that is a small proportion of those who have been abused in Scotland in recent years. 

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Child abuse survivors' groups have said they have "no trust left" in Scotland's Child Abuse Charity.

White Flowers Alba and In Care Abuse Survivors Group both called for urgent answers from the Scottish government on the future of the inquiry.

The probe has been plagued by problems and all three original panel members have now resigned.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said he understood the concerns but told the BBC the inquiry was gathering momentum.

Glen Houston  resigned from the panel on Tuesday . He said his new appointments to the boards of two public sector organisations meant there was potentially a conflict of interest with his work on the abuse inquiry.

The other two original panel members, Susan O'Brien QC and Prof Michael Lamb, stood down within days of each other last year, complaining of government interference.

In July 2016, senior judge Lady Smith  was appointed as the new chairwoman  following Ms O'Brien's resignation.

Image source, Scottish government

Det Ch Supt Lesley Boal QPM, from Police Scotland says there has been dedicated resources for the last year and another year to come to try and identify files that will fit terms of reference for the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry.

Det Ch Supt Boal says in the Strathclyde area 115,000 family protection files and other sexual crimes files.

Greens MSP John Finnie asks for comments on the number of cases likely to come forward as a result of the legislation. 

Detective Chief Superintendent Lesley Boal QPM, from Police Scotland says some of the figures quoted have been confusing and she apologises for that. 

Det Ch Supt Boal says the committee is aware that Police Scotland have seen a rise on non-reported historic rape cases.

She says forces in the UK have been working together on Operation Hydrant since the Jimmy Savile abuse came to light.

She says this operation deals with and compiles information on historic abuse claims.

Image source, Jersey Care Inquiry

Last February the BBC reported that an inquiry into historical child abuse in Jersey's care system would spend the full £23m set aside for the work, including contingency fund s.

Inquiry Chairwoman Francis Oldham QC asked for the £1.58m due to a number of unavoidable matters.

These included calling more witnesses, a significant document disclosure and preparation time.

Chief Minister Senator Ian Gorst said the inquiry would be keeping the government informed of what it spends.

He told the States: "These unavoidable matters have knock-on associated costs for States Departments in potential legal costs.

"This means the total spending forecast for the Inquiry will use the full budget and contingency."

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Vladimir Valiente representing the Society of Local Authority Lawyers (SOLAR) says he is usually referred to as Vlad if it is easier.

Mr Valiente says SOLAR absolutely agrees that justice needs to be done in terms of victims and survivors.

The question is what is the best method to do this, he says and he too refers to the Jersey model.

He says the adversarial system of the civil court might not be the best place, due to the antics of lawyers and discrediting of witnesses.

Mr Valiente says the Jersey process might be the way to go and if the survivor is dissatisfied they can still go to have their day in court.

Lauren Bruce from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) says "in some cases it is an apology that the victim wants" and assurances that it will not happen again. 

Ms Bruce says the civil court process is designed to look at civil law and not the issues on the fringes of that.

She says an apology and assurance that something will not happen again would be on the fringes. 

Alistair Gaw from Social Work Scotland says the approach taken in Jersey could compliment this Bill. 

Mr Gaw says it does not have to be one or the other.

He says it is important to get the views of victims.

He says some may want their day in court but that does not apply to all of them in his view. 

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In its submission to the committee Social Work Scotland, external says:

"Social Work Scotland agree with the proposal (to remove cases relating to historical childhood abuse from the limitation regime set out in the 1973 Act.). 

"Our experience of supporting victims of childhood abuse indicates that, in many cases, a significant number of years will pass before the victim is able or willing to disclose or even acknowledge what has happened to them. 

"As a result of this particular set of circumstances, a 3 year limitation period in practice negates any possibility of the victim being able to bring a civil case."

Read more here., external

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Alistair Gaw from Social Work Scotland says his organisation supports the comments already made in broad support of the policy intention of the bill.

Mr Gaw says the support required for potential victims will be substantial and individual.

Some victims will need a great deal of help through the process, he says.

"There is no doubt that access to justice is overdue."

He says the cost could be around £200m if there were 5,000 cases, if the Jersey example is scaled up, with each case costing £40,000.

He says the scale of this at even the lowest level is highly significant and the fiscal impact on voluntary organisations must be taken into account.

Image source, COSLA

COSLA, external supports the intent of the legislation and is clear that removing any barrier to justice for survivors of historical childhood abuse is a positive move. 

However, despite our strong support for the legislation, we recognise that there will be a potentially significant impact on local authorities – both financial and practical. 

COSLA has previously submitted written evidence in response to the Finance Committee‟s call for evidence on the Financial Memorandum of the Bill. 

While we touch on financial implications in the present submission, the previous written evidence should be looked to for fullest account of financial issues. 

Read more here., external

Lauren Bruce from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) says COSLA supports the intent of the legislation.

Ms Bruce says the overall impact of it is likely to be extensive and there is likely to be an increase in local authority claims.

She says the method of implimentation will have a significant impact on the aims of the legislation.

"We would encourage the committee to think of access to justice more broadly than just the courts," she says.  

In its submission to the committee Police Scotland, external says: 

"Police Scotland supports the broad policy intentions of the Limitation (Childhood Abuse) (Scotland) Bill. 

"The effect of childhood abuse can manifest in a number of ways and it can take a considerable period of time before an individual feels able to make any form of disclosure. 

Image source, Police Scotland

It goes on to say: 

"Police Scotland has considerable engagement with persons who have reported nonrecent sexual crimes and, in recent years, there has been a statistical rise in the recording of such crimes. 

"A broad view of this could be attributed to increased public confidence in reporting."

Read more here., external

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Committee convener Margaret Mitchell asks what impact the bill will have on victims of child abuse.

Detective Chief Superintendent Lesley Boal QPM says Police Scotland broadly supports the policy intention of the bill.

Det Ch Supt Boal says she is acutely aware of the horrific child abuse that has taken place in the past and sadly still takes place today.

She says each survivor should have the right to choose which elements of justice they wish to pursue and the ability to seek compensation should be a choice.

Det Ch Supt Boal says she has a concern about the financial impact for third sector organisations which operate diametrically in the opposite way they used to decades ago. 

• Lauren Bruce from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
• Detective Chief Superintendent Lesley Boal QPM, from Police Scotland
• Alistair Gaw from Social Work Scotland
• Vladimir Valiente representing the Society of Local Authority Lawyers (SOLAR)   

Laura Dunlop QC from the Faculty of Advocates says unfortunately "sometimes the process does a person more harm than good."