A Bill which would see children under 18 who commit crimes dealt with through the Children’s Hearing system rather than the courts has passed.
MSPs backed the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill on Thursday by 71 votes to 49.
The Bill makes changes to the justice system, increasing the age at which someone is considered a child from 16 to 18 and ensuring those under that age are no longer housed in young offenders institutions.
Children’s minister Natalie Don said the passage of the Bill is a “significant step forward”.
She added: “The Bill before us today will ensure children in Scotland are kept out of young offenders institutions and it will support safe, proven, care-based alternatives.”
Critics of the Bill have warned of a lack of protections for victims of crimes perpetrated by children, but an amendment passed this week created a “national, single point of contact support service for victims and certain members of their families”, the minister argued.
Ms Don added: “All children, where they’re in need, at risk or in trouble, deserve our concern and support and this Bill will help ensure that they get it.”
Scotland “should not be imprisoning children”, she added.
Scottish Conservative Roz McCall, who told MSPs her party would not be supporting the Bill, raised questions of capacity within the Children’s Hearing system caused by the changes, saying there needs to be a “massive recruitment drive”.
While stating her support for the principles of the Bill, Ms McCall added: “As with so many things brought forward by this Government, the foundation is simply not there.”
Scottish Labour MSP Martin Whitfield also spoke of his reservations around the Bill, but added: “Nothing is more important to our society than caring for the safety and wellbeing of our children and young people.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie said: “We should have care, not prison, we should have hearings, not courts, and we should be treating children as children.”
The Bill faced a mammoth session of Parliament on Wednesday, when more than 90 amendments were considered.
Among these was the removal of two sections which placed restrictions on the reporting of children in the justice system, which the minister accepted did interfere with the rights of a free press.