Scotland's Commissioner For Children and Young People - Commissioner Selection

Commissioner Selection

Scotland's current Commissioner is Tam Baillie. He was appointed in May 2009 after an interview process which included children and young people as well as Members of the Scottish Parliament. After working as practitioner and as a manager of services for children and young people and their families for almost 25 years, Baillie moved into the strategic policy field. He worked as the Director of Policy for Barnardo's from 2003 to 2009 and has also held the post of Chair of the Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights.

Scotland's first Commissioner, Kathleen Marshall, was appointed by Queen Elizabeth in April 2004, after a selection process which included her being interviewed by two groups of children and young people. Marshall was appointed for a period of five years, with the possibility of a further five-year period. Before taking up her post as Commissioner, Marshall worked as a child law consultant and from 1989-1994 she was the Director of the Scottish Child Law Centre. She is currently a visiting professor at the Glasgow Centre for the Child and Society at the University of Glasgow.