SCOTLAND has, in the past, produced radical solutions to problems: the Scottish Parliament will provide new opportunities for creative solutions. The issue here is that although children are one fifth of Scotland's population, they have no opportunity to consider or comment on policies and legislation which affect them.

In his foreword to the White Paper Scotland's Parliament, Donald Dewar, the Secretary of State for Scotland, says that ''the Scottish Parliament will strengthen democratic control and make government more accountable to the people of Scotland . . . it will connect and involve people in decisions that matter to them . . . and bring a new sense of ownership to the political debate and a new confidence to our affairs''. We must ensure that children and young people are connected and involved in decisions that matter to them.

Scotland already has a Minister for Children's Issues: Sam Galbraith. Although his ''fully comprehensive childproofing policy'' is currently being finalised, it has the radical potential to place children at the centre of the policy-making process. And while Child Strategy Statements will be produced before the Scottish Parliament is established, Sam Galbraith's childproofing initiative could form the basis for a Scottish Parliament which considers the impact of all Bills - reserved (to the UK Parliament) as well as unreserved - on Scotland's children.

Before the last General Election, Children in Scotland published A Manifesto for Scotland's Children and Young People (December 1996). This put the case for the development of an inter-Ministerial Children and Young People's Committee which would enable the Scottish Parliament to implement Galbraith's vision of a childproofing strategy. The Committee could co-ordinate the work of relevant Ministers in order to examine the impact of all proposed legislation in relation to children and families. It could also receive evidence relating to the annual report of the Minister for Children's Issues, and in relation to the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Consultative Steering Group on the Scottish Parliament has defined shared power; accountability; accessibility, openness, and responsiveness; and equal opportunities as the key principles under which the Scottish Parliament will work. While neither the Scotland Bill nor the consummation document issued by the CSG on how the Scottish Parliament will work refer explicitly to children and young people, these principles must lead to working methods which effectively take account of the views and needs of Scotland's children and young people.

Although young people cannot vote until they are 18 (a matter which the Scottish Parliament could address) the establishment of the Scottish Parliament provides a unique opportunity to address the issue of participation beyond the voting system. The Children and Young People's Committee could have open meetings around Scotland, including meetings in schools and youth centres. The Minister for the Children's Issues Unit in the Scottish Office could prepare policy briefings and identify questions on policy for children and young people which could be distributed through schools and on the Internet. Children can suggest effective solutions to problems, in addition to identifying problems: the Scottish Parliament provides us with the opportunity to involve children and young people in the policy-making process which will ensure that policies and legislation really are ''childproof'', and enable

children and young people to develop the skills which will equip them for full and active citizenship.

The Scottish Parliament will be empowered to legislate on all matters which are not reserved to the UK Parliament (which include education, social work, health, and criminal justice); it will also, however, be empowered to debate any matter, whether reserved or devolved. This power to debate any matter means that the Scottish Parliament could become a very powerful means of promoting the interests of children and families even when they relate to matters reserved to the UK Parliament - such as social security and employment. Westminster - and indeed the developing agenda relating to child and family policy at a European level - will continue to be of considerable importance. As such, we must continue to scrutinise policy and legislation at UK and European levels as well as at the level of the new Scottish Parliament.

While the Scottish Parliament will have responsibility for policy and legislation which is clearly of relevance to children and young people, including education, social work, health, and criminal justice, significant powers are reserved by the UK Parliament - perhaps most notable in relation to children, social security. As such, it is of the utmost importance that structures which ensure scrutiny of measures affecting Scotland's children, young people, and families are established and maintained at Westminster.

The Scottish All Party Parliamentary Group for Children provides for one means, albeit relatively informal. The Government should give serious consideration to the establishment of a Children and Young People's (Rights) Committee at Westminster level, which includes Scottish MPs.

And, although international relations will be reserved to the UK Parliament, the Scottish Parliament will be responsible for ''observing and implementing international obligations'' (Schedule 5, clause 6 (2)): this must include the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Government ratified the Convention in December 1991, thereby committing itself to implementing the set of minimum standards defined by the Convention. These standards relate to civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights for all people under the age of 18.

The real test of the Scottish Parliament will be whether its formal structures will enable the maintenance and development of integrated initiatives, such as the childproofing strategy of the Minister for Children's Issues, which see the child as a whole person rather than as a bundle of problems which are to be dealt with by different departments, and promote the participation of children and young people in the policy making process.

n Dr Sheila Inglis is Policy and Research Manager with Children in Scotland. She will be speaking this Saturday at the New Scotland conference in Glasgow, organised by the Centre for Scottish Public Policy and sponsored by The Herald. For details of timings and tickets for the whole weekend of discussion and debate, phone the Tron theatre's box office on 0141 552 4267.