OpenLegislation

Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937 in England

Edw8and1Geo6/1 c. 37 · Enacted 1 July 1937 · Extends to United Kingdom

Not fully up to date. 3 changes made by later legislation have not yet been written into this text, which is revised to 29 April 2026.

See the changes not yet applied
ProvisionChangeMade by
s. 38(3)omittedChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 s. 29(7)(a)
s. 38(4)words substitutedChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 s. 29(7)(b)
s. 110(1)words omittedChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 s. 29(8)

Contents

  1. 1—11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  2. Offences
  3. 13, 14. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  4. 17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  5. 19. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  6. 20. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  7. 24, 25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  8. 26. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  9. Supplemental
  10. General Provisions as to Employment
  11. 28ARegulations under section 28: further provision
  12. 29. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  13. Entertainments and Performances
  14. 32. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  15. 34Restrictions on training for performances of a dangerous nature.
  16. Supplemental
  17. 37Interpretation of Part III.
  18. 38Savings.
  19. 39—43. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  20. General Provisions as to Proceedings in Court
  21. 44, 45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  22. 46Power to prohibit publication of certain matter in newspapers.
  23. 47—54. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  24. 55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  25. 56. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  26. 58. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  27. 58ACommittal for residential training.
  28. 59Section 59
  29. 60, 61. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  30. 62Power of Secretary of State to send certain juvenile offenders to approved schools. Repealed
  31. 63Register of children found guilty of offences.
  32. 63. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  33. 64. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  34. 65, 66. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  35. 67. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  36. 68—80. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  37. Part V: Remand Homes, Approved Schools and Persons to whose care Children and Young Persons may be committed
  38. Approved Schools
  39. 87Power to send children and young persons from England, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Channel Islands to approved schools in Scotland.
  40. 96—98. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  41. 99. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  42. 100. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  43. 102. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  44. 103. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  45. 103Proof of age a defence.
  46. 104Evidence of wages of defendant.
  47. 105Summary jurisdiction.
  48. Supplementary Provisions as to Secretary of State
  49. 106. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  50. 107†Exchequer grants and expenses of Secretary of State and Scottish Education Department.
  51. 108. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  52. General
  53. 109. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  54. 111, 112. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Repealed
  55. 113†Short title, commencement, extent and repeals.
  56. Schedule 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Schedule 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
  57. Schedule 2, 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Schedule 2, 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
  58. Schedule 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Schedule 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1—11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

13, 14. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

19. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

20. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

24, 25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

26. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

28ARegulations under section 28: further provisionF1

(1)

Regulations under section 28 may—

(a)

make different provision for different purposes or areas;

(b)

make provision subject to exceptions;

(c)

make transitional or saving provision.

(2)

Regulations under section 28 may provide for the processing of information in accordance with the regulations not to be in breach of—

(a)

any obligation of confidence owed by the person processing the information, or

(b)

any other restriction on the processing of information (however imposed).

(3)

Regulations under section 28 are subject to the negative procedure (see Part 2 of the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 10)).

(4)

In this section “processing” has the same meaning as in the Data Protection Act 2018 (see section 3 of that Act).

29. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

32. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

34Restrictions on training for performances of a dangerous nature.C1

(1)

No F1childunder the age of twelve years shall be trained to take part in performances of a dangerous nature, and no F2child who has attained that ageshall be trained to take part in such performances except under and in accordance with the terms of a licence granted and in force under this section; and every person who causes or procures a person, or being his parent or guardian allows him, to be trained to take part in performances of a dangerous nature in contravention of this section, shall be lible on conviction by a court of summary jurisdiction to a fine not exceeding F3level 3 on the standard scale or, in the case of a second or subsequent offence, not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(2)

An education authority may grant a licence for a F4child who has attained the age of twelve yearsto be trained to take part in performances of a dangerous nature.

(3)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F5

(4)

A licence under this section shall specifiy the place or places at which the person is to be trained and shall embody such conditions as are, in the opinion of the authority, necessary for his protection, but a licence shall not be refused if the authority are satisfied that the person is fit and willing to be trained and that proper provision has been made to secure his health and kind treatment.

(5)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

37Interpretation of Part III.

For the purposes of the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act and of any byelaws F1or regulations made thereunder—

F2(a)

The expression “child” means a person who is not for the purposes of the M1Education (Scotland) Act 1980 over school age;

(b)

The expression “performance of a dangerous nature” includes all acrobatic performances and all performances as a contortionist;

(c)

The expression “street trading” includes the hawking of newspapers, matches, flowers and other articles, playing, singing or performing for profit, shoe-blacking and other like occupations carried on in streets or public places;

F3(d)

Any reference to a day on which a child is under obligation to attend school shall be construed as a reference to a day upon which a meeting of the school he is attending is held;

(e)

A person who assists in a trade or occupation carried on for profit shall be deemed to be be employed notwithstanding that he receives no reward for his labour; and

(f)

A chorister taking part in a religious service or in a choir practice for a religious service shall not, whether he receives any reward or not, be deemed to be employed;

F4(g)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

38Savings.

1), (2)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F1

(3)

F2The provisions of this Part of this Act relating to employment shall not apply to a person detained in F3a residential establishment where education is provided.

(4)

The said provisions shall be in addition to and not in substitution for any enactments relating to employment in factories, workshops, mines and quarries, or for giving effect to any international convention regulating employment.

5),(6)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F4

(7)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

39—43. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

44, 45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

46Power to prohibit publication of certain matter in newspapers.C3C1F1C2

(1)

In relation to any proceedings in any court . . . F2, the court may direct that—

(a)

no newspaper report of the proceedings shall reveal the name, address, or school, or include any particulars calculated to lead to the identification, of F3a person under the age of seventeen years concerned in the proceedings, either as being the person F4by or against or in respect of whom the proceedings are taken, or as being a witness therein;

(b)

no picture shall be published in any newspaper as being or including a picture of a person under the age of seventeen years so concerned in the proceedings as aforesaid;

except in so far (if at all) as may be permitted by the direction of the court.

(2)

Any person who publishes any matter in contravention of any such direction shall on summary conviction be liable in respect of each offence to a fine not exceeding F5level 4 on the standard scale.

47—54. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

56. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

58. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F2F1

58ACommittal for residential training.F1

(1)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F2

(2)

A child detained pursuant to the directions of the Secretary of State under F3section 413 of the M1Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 shall, while so detained, be deemed to be in legal custody.

(3)

Any child so detained as aforesaid may at any time be released conditionally or unconditionally by the Secretary of State, and any such child conditionally released shall be liable to recall on the directions of the Secretary of State and if he fails to comply with any condition of his release he may be apprehended without warrant and taken to the place from which he was released.

59

(1)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F1

2)–(4)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F2

60, 61. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

62Power of Secretary of State to send certain juvenile offenders to approved schools.F1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

63Register of children found guilty of offences.F1

In addition to any other register required by law, a separate register of children found guilty of offences and of children discharged on bond or put on probation shall be kept for every summary court by the chief constable or other person charged with the duty of keeping registers of convictions. The register shall apply to children of such age, and shall include such particulars, as may be directed by the Secretary of State, and it shall be the duty of the keeper of the register, within seven days after any such child has been dealt with by the court, to transmit a copy of the entry relating to the child to the education authority for the area in which the child resides.

63. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

64. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

65, 66. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

67. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

68—80. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

87Power to send children and young persons from England, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Channel Islands to approved schools in Scotland.F1

F2(1)

Any person detained in a training school under the law in force in Northern Ireland may, with the consent of the Secretary of State, be transferred by order of the competent authority in Northern Ireland to such place in Scotland as the Secretary of State may direct for the purposes of undergoing residential training, and shall be subject to the provisions of this Act and of the M1Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1963 F3and of the M2Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975F4and of the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989 as if the order sending him to the school in Northern Ireland were an order for committal for residential training made under F5section 413 of the said Act of 1975 made upon the same date, and as if the order were an authority for his detention for a period not exceeding the period for which he mght be detained under the training school order made in respect of him.

C1(2)

F6The Secretary of State may at any time by order direct that a person who under the last foregoing subsection has been transferred to an approved school in Scotland from a school in . . . F7 Northern Ireland shall be retransferred to the last-mentioned school, or to such other school as may be specified by the competent authority in . . . Northern Ireland, and thereupon the manager of that school shall receive him accordingly.

(3)

If under any law of the Isle of Man or of any of the Channel Islands a court is empowered to order children or young persons under seventeen years of age to be sent to approved schools in Scotland and if by that law provision satisfactory to the Secretary of State is made—

(a)

for the expenses of the conveyance of the children or young persons, and of their reconveyance when discharged, or released F8under supervision;

(b)

for contributions towards the expenses of the managers of the school; and

(c)

for the contribution (if any) to be made by the parent or person legally liable to maintain a child or young person so sent, and the mode in which such contribution is to be raised,

a child or young person with respect to whom such an order is made by a court under the said law may be received into such F9place in Scotland as the Secretary of State may direct for the purposes of undergoing residential training, and after his transfer to that place may be dealt with and shall be subject to the provisions of this Act and of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1963 and of the M3Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975and of the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989 as if the order were an order for committal for residential training made under section 413 of the said Act of 1975 made upon the same date.

(4)

A person so ordered by the competent authority in . . . Northern Ireland or by a court in the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands to be transferred or sent to an approved school in Scotland, or so ordered by the Secretary of State to be retransferred to a school in . . . Northern Ireland, may be conveyed in the custody of any constable or other person acting under a warrant issued by the competent authority in . . . Northern Ireland, or by a court in the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, or by the Secretary of State, as the case may be, to the school to which he is ordered to be transferred, sent or retransferred, and he shall during his conveyance to that school be deemed to be in legal custody.

C2(5)

In this section the expression “competent authority” means, . . . , in relation to Northern Ireland, the Minister of Home Affairs for Northern Ireland, or such authority or person as may be designated by the Parliament of Northern Ireland to exercise the powers conferred by this section on the competent authority in Northern Ireland.

(6)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F10

96—98. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

99. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

100. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

102. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

104Evidence of wages of defendant.

In any proceedings under this Act a copy of an entry in the wages book of any employer of labour, or if no wages book be kept a written statement signed by the employer or by any responsible person in his employ, shall be evidence that the wages therein entered or stated as having been paid to any person, have in fact been so paid.

105Summary jurisdiction.

(1)

Subject to the provisions of this Act, all orders of a court of summary jurisdiction under this Act shall be made, and all proceedings in relation to any such orders shall be taken, in manner F1provided by the M1Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975.

(2)

Any magistrate who, by virtue of a local Act had jurisdiction before the first day of April nineteen hundred and nine for any of the purposes of the M2Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act 1904, shall have jurisdiction for the like purposes of Part II of this Act.

106. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

107†Exchequer grants and expenses of Secretary of State and Scottish Education Department.C1

(1)

There shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament—

(a)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F1

(b)

any expenses incurred by the Secretary of State . . . F2 in the administration of this Act.

(2)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F3

108. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

109. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

111, 112. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

113†Short title, commencement, extent and repeals.C1

(1)

This Act may be cited as the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937.

(2)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F1

(3)

Save as therein otherwise expressly provided, this Act shall extend only to Scotland.

(4)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Schedule 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1

Schedule 2, 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F1

Schedule 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F1