THE age of criminal responsibility in Clydebank is to rise from eight to 12, the government has announced.

Currently young children can have a criminal record through the children's hearings systems.

The age of criminal responsibility is 10 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A consultation on raising the age in Scotland was carried out between March and June this year.

Early years minister Mark McDonald made the announcement of the change in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, stating it was supported by the United Nations, police, prosecutors, victims groups and young people.

The Scottish Youth Parliament said the change would "help ensure that Scotland is a fair place for children, and shift focus to supporting children instead of criminalising them".

Clydebank MSP Gil Paterson said: "I am glad the minimum age of criminal responsibility in Scotland is to be increased to 12 after the announcement by the Scottish Government.

"Eight-years-old is just too young, and can leave children with damaging and life-altering consequences, like a criminal record. Scotland cannot go on having the lowest age of criminal responsibility in Europe, so I welcome bringing it in line with international standards.”

QC Derek Ogg told the BBC in an interview: "The thing that we've got to remember in all of this is that a child who offends is himself a victim.

"That's a child that we're talking about who's been let down. It may be parenting, it may be mental health services, it may be social services.

"The vast majority of children - and I'm talking about children until 16 - the vast majority of children who come into contact with criminal authorities and criminal courts are from profoundly abusive backgrounds, whether it's sexual abuse, criminal abuse or poverty.

"So we have to bear in mind that we are dealing with very vulnerable children when they come into contact with the criminal justice system."