Meeting of the Parliament 19 March 2026 [Draft]
I begin by thanking the minister, not only for her willingness to work across the chamber, and directly with me, throughout the passage of the bill, but for the speech that she has just given. Her speeches are best when they come from the heart.
That constructive engagement has been genuinely appreciated and reflects the spirit in which the legislation should be taken forward. There can be no question of my belief in the Promise. Like many here, I supported it because it represents something rare in public policy: a clear and shared commitment to fundamentally change the lives of children who have too often been failed by the systems that are designed to protect them. It was ambitious, necessary, bold and, above all, urgent. Scotland made a collective vow to its care-experienced children and Parliament has a responsibility to ensure that that vow is kept.
Make no mistake: the bill is not the Promise and does not come close but, on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives, I can confirm that we will vote in favour of it at decision time.
I also want to be honest with members about what that support means and what it demands. Right from the initial evidence sessions I asked about the deliverability of the bill.
Throughout stage 1, stage 2 and, now, stage 3, concerns have consistently and credibly been raised by those on the front line. Social Work Scotland has warned that the bill’s ambitions simply cannot be realised without meaningful investment in workforce capacity. The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has been clear that local authorities are already under immense pressure and that giving them new duties without adequate funding risks stretching services even further. The Law Society of Scotland has raised serious questions about the legal clarity and practical application of key provisions.
Those are not fringe voices. They are the very organisations that we rely on to deliver change, and those are the people who will be asked to implement every provision and resource every new duty in the bill. When they tell us that the foundations are not strong enough, we have a duty to listen, and the Scottish Government has a duty to respond with action.
Social Work Scotland, which sees the consequences of the system every day, has reluctantly taken the extraordinary step of urging Parliament to reject the bill. It has done so with what it describes as “deep regret and disappointment.” It reminds us of something we should all reflect on: the care system is already
“cluttered, complex and does not provide a clear frame to support children, families, decision makers and service providers.”
We must not take those words lightly, and supporting the bill does not mean that we can dismiss them.
The Law Society of Scotland has warned that the bill
“does not fully meet recognised human rights standards or provide the legal clarity and consistency that are required in Scotland’s child and family law landscape.”
That is not a minor technical critique—it is a fundamental warning. We should not pass legislation that legal professionals tell us falls short of the human rights standards that we are obligated to uphold.
COSLA has been unambiguous that local authorities are already under immense pressure and that imposing new duties on them without adequate funding will not help care-experienced children but, instead, risks making the system worse for them. The Scottish Government must not pass the bill and then walk away from the funding question. That would not be progress—it would be pressure dressed up as policy.
We will support the bill at decision time because we believe in what it could achieve, but the Scottish Government must understand that passing legislation is not the same as delivering change. The workforce must be resourced, the funding must be real and the legal clarity must be provided. Without those things, the bill will not keep the Promise. It will become another layer of complexity in a system that is already struggling under the weight of good intentions that were never properly implemented.
A vote for the bill today will be a vote for the Promise only if the Scottish Government treats what comes next with the seriousness that those warnings demand. Implementation, resourcing and accountability must not be afterthoughts; they are the whole point. This Parliament must not simply pass the bill and consider its work done. Scrutiny does not end at stage 3. We will be watching and asking the hard questions about whether the investment is real, whether the workforce is supported and whether the children that the bill is meant to protect are actually better off.
The 2030 deadline that was set by the Promise is not a comfort but a countdown, and with the warnings that we have heard from Social Work Scotland, COSLA and the Law Society, the clock is ticking louder than ever. Further reform, sustained investment and an unrelenting focus on outcomes are not optional extras; they are what the Promise requires.
For care-experienced young people and families, what matters is not what we pass in the chamber but what it changes in their lives. Too many of them have lived in the gap between policy and reality, and between what the system promised and what is actually delivered. The bill on its own does not guarantee change. It does, however, create an obligation, and we intend to hold the Scottish Government to that.
The Scottish Conservatives will vote in favour of the bill not because it is sufficient, but because the children that it is meant to serve cannot afford for us to stand still. However, our support is not a green light for complacency. It is a demand for delivery. If we are to stand here in 2030 and say with our hands on our hearts that we have kept the Promise, today must not be the finish line but the moment when the Scottish Government’s accountability begins.