Meeting of the Parliament 19 March 2026 [Draft]
I remind members of my entry in the register of members’ interests.
I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on behalf of Scottish Labour in this debate. Last night, it was striking to note the significant levels of agreement on the stage 3 amendments. That demonstrated three things. First, there has been much-improved engagement by the minister and the Government to deliver on issues that I and colleagues across the chamber raised at stage 2. Secondly, there is still an encouraging level of consensus and commitment across the chamber on fulfilling the Promise. Thirdly, many people across Scotland, including people in the care-experienced community and those who support them, want to see change.
Unfortunately, the fact is that improved engagement was an absolute necessity. Engagement during the early stages of the bill’s development, before it came to the chamber, was extremely poor. Not all the people who had the most experience and knowledge to contribute to the bill were listened to, and it is much poorer legislation for that.
The bill should not have been left to the last moment; it is far too important. The independent care review told us in 2020 that legislation was needed to simplify the legal landscape, and the Government promised us in 2022 that that would happen. The bill is a lot of things, but simple it is not. Unfortunately, further legislation will be required in the next parliamentary session to clear up the messy legislative landscape, as well as to properly redesign the children’s hearings system. We must learn the lessons that this process has taught us as politicians in Parliament and the Government.
I am proud, however, that we managed to reach a point at which legislation can start to make real and tangible differences to the lives of people in one of the most vulnerable groups in our country. The bill introduces the right to return to care, and that in particular is worthy of celebration. It has provided an opportunity to shine a light on the incredibly important work that the independent advocacy services do. Under article 12 of the UNCRC, young people have the right to have their voices heard, and that must always guide our policy making. Independent advocacy empowers young people to use those voices.
During the proceedings on the bill, I have sought to highlight the need for our legislation to be guided by the UNCRC, to reimagine our approach to children’s hearings and to acknowledge the vital contribution and immense value of foster carers. The provisions in the bill and the discussions surrounding them must provide an impetus to act on those issues.
That is what the bill actually is: an impetus to act. It is an instruction to act. It is a call to capture the voices of our young people telling us to act. It does not fulfil commitments to the care-experienced community—we are still not where we need to be. Corporate parenting and social work are still operating in incredibly challenging environments. Too many care-experienced young people are still not being given the nurturing that they need to thrive. The hard-won victories in the bill will mean nothing if its provisions are not properly resourced and effectively implemented.
In the short time that I have left, I wish to make some genuine comments about a minister who is, as she leaves Parliament, probably at her most valuable. She has crafted a way of reaching out, through stages 2 and 3 of the bill, that I think many people with far more experience could learn from. I hope that whoever follows her builds on that. I hope that they do not start again and need to learn again but that they look at what she has achieved.
From discussions that I have had with the minister and from her contribution, I know that she has had imposter syndrome. In my view, she absolutely should not think that she is an imposter—she is not an imposter in any way. She is a highly skilled and articulate politician who has defended the Scottish Government, has listened to care-experienced people and sometimes to buffooning politicians around the chamber, and has done everything that she could to get the bill into place.
I confirm that Scottish Labour will support the bill tonight, and I thank the minister specifically for that work. Six years ago, parties across Parliament came together to make a Promise. We now need to build on that consensus. We must keep being ambitious but, most of all, where we fall short, we must keep being accountable to the people who really matter, and that is our care-experienced community.