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Meeting of the Parliament 02 November 2011

02 Nov 2011 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Looked-after Children

Lyle, Richard SNP Central Scotland Watch on SPTV

I could talk about this subject for hours but, in case the Presiding Officer is concerned, I assure her that I will stick to my six minutes.

National adoption week means a lot to me as, 29 years ago, my wife and I adopted our first child: our daughter Marina. I always laugh at soaps or films that show couples adopting a child in a few weeks, as that is simply not true. After an application and seven years of waiting, my wife and I finally had a baby girl in 1982. I remember the number of visits that social workers made to our home and what we had to go through, and the time that was spent discussing with our social worker our intention to adopt a baby.

After 30 years, it has not got any better, especially as we know that more than 15,892 children are now looked after by local authorities. The number of looked-after children has increased every year and is now at its highest since 1982, which was the year we adopted our daughter.

More than 9,000 children are cared for away from their home. More than half of those children have experienced two or more placements; 30 per cent have experienced three or more placements; and 6 per cent have had six placements. There were just 466 adoptions in 2007, and 218 children who were ceasing to be looked after were adopted. Nearly 70 per cent of those were no-relation adoptions.

Statistics show that children are becoming looked after for longer periods, which is totally unacceptable, as it creates uncertainty and potential long-term social and emotional problems. We must do better, but we cannot—as some people try to do—start the blame game. Social workers are complimented when they get it right and slated when they get it wrong. I know that they have a hard job, but there are so many children in care that we must examine the reasons why they are there. Can we do better for them?

I will make an observation from several cases that I have personally dealt with over the years. In one case, I backed a couple to the hilt. Officials said that they had masses of evidence, but I told them that I did not believe what they were saying, as there was other evidence to support the family. In the end, I and many of the friends who stuck with the couple were proved right one year later. Social work got it wrong on that occasion, and the children in question are now back with their parents, where they should have been all the time.

Another case that I am dealing with involves a father who wants to provide a decent home for his child but who, due to circumstances that I will not go into, will not be allowed to do so. His daughter will go into the system and become a statistic like all the others. His young child is in care, and the visits when he gets to see her are irregular because social work cannot agree to his request for more regular visits. He is constantly on the phone to the social work department, and its time is used up in answering his phone calls and e-mails. I share his frustration, as any agreement that we try to make is a problem for the department due to legal requirements.

When children are taken into care, there should be a clear intention to return them to their family or to any family member as soon as possible, depending on the circumstances. Children should be cared for, not put into care. They should be adopted as soon as possible, depending on individual circumstances and legal requirements, and the agreement of the birth parents. In response to Gil Paterson’s point, I have been there, done that and got the T-shirt. Putting kids into care should be a last resort. Our children deserve better, and we cannot let them down.

I support the Government’s intention to reduce the time that is needed to find a permanent home for looked-after children. I would encourage the many hundreds of couples out there who I know want to give a child a good home to apply to adopt or foster a child. It changed my life and my wife’s life. We applied, and we were very happy to get our daughter. We applied to adopt another child but, like many other couples in similar circumstances, we were blessed after three years with the birth of our son. We were lucky, but many people have not been lucky. We now have a lovely daughter and son, who are both a credit to my wife and me.

15:35

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Meeting of the Parliament 02 November 2011

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