Hansard

I am pleased to take part in today’s debate. As we mark the first ever adoption week Scotland, I pay tribute to the individuals and couples in the Lothian region, which I represent, who foster and adopt children—children who are some of the most vulnerable members of our society and who are often in considerable distress. Their contribution is a great one and we should acknowledge it, commend their efforts and look at supporting them in every possible way.

Children need stability and routine in their home lives to allow them to have the confidence to develop and flourish, establish friendships and make progress in education. We want to see more people become fosterers and adopters, more fosterers go on to become adopters and adoption made easier and less bureaucratic. I very much share the concerns about the length of time that it takes to secure an adoption, with the average being more than two years from initial contact. That must be reduced, and I welcome the Scottish Government’s recognition of that in its motion. Many individuals and families who want to adopt are looking to ministers to deliver the improvements that are required and to make those changes at the earliest opportunity.

Scottish Conservatives welcome the creation of Scotland’s adoption register, and we are pleased that investment has been provided to bring its services fully online, which will, we hope, speed up the matching of children with adoptive parents. We believe that the time is right for guidance to local authorities that was drawn up more than five years ago to be reviewed and refreshed, to identify any delays that local government policy could be bringing to the process.

Alison Johnstone outlined the fact that in the past few days we have received a number of emails from constituents who have raised issues around the foster care allowance. Although my constituents have emphasised that they do not foster to make money, it is appropriate that the concerns are looked at. I hope that, if I write to the minister, we can take forward concerns about the variations in costs faced by many foster parents, especially those who live in more expensive communities such as Edinburgh.

Both the Fostering Network and those who run the adoption register have spoken out publicly about the lack of foster and adoptive parents in Scotland, and I hope that we can all unite in sending out the message that we encourage more of our constituents to consider fostering and adopting.

In Edinburgh, an extensive advertising campaign has literally placed the issue on the streets, with billboards being placed in communities across the city to encourage people to consider fostering. I would welcome any insight from ministers on how that approach is being developed, how effective the advertising is and whether more public information campaigns can be brought forward. For example, it has been suggested to me that regular information sessions in supermarkets and shopping centres may give individuals and families who might be considering fostering the opportunity to discuss the issues informally. It has also been put to me that every council tax bill should include information on fostering, although I am not sure that that would deliver the outcome that we all desire.

I have raised in the chamber a number of times the fact that social media is changing how people access information. There is a great opportunity with Facebook, for example, and the geographical advertising that it can undertake. We could try to get it on board so that we could advertise the opportunities and how great it is for families to adopt children. I hope that the minister will take that on board.

As the minister said, many hundreds of foster and adoptive parents are needed to give homes to looked-after children. Adopting and fostering can be incredibly rewarding for parents of all ages and all backgrounds, and we need them to come forward.

Adopters and fosterers are especially needed for children in their early teens and children who have complicated needs, including physical and learning disabilities. We need to develop better advertising to cover those children. Sadly, the older children become, the harder it is for them to find adoptive families to take care of them. We need to look at how we can ensure that teenagers can benefit as well as younger children and babies.

As well as local authority fostering and adoption services, we should also recognise the important and valuable role of the voluntary sector in the area—both the local and national charities and the independent charitable fostering and adoption agencies. Iain Gray, who is not in the chamber at the moment, outlined the importance of on-going support for families, and, as Tavish Scott said, one quarter of adoptions break down, so we must look at what work is being done on those issues.

Barnardo’s Scotland offers effective training to help new adoptive parents as they step into their roles and on-going support after children have been placed, including group meetings organised by Barnardo’s own social workers. Meetings are also attended by potential adopters who are waiting for a child. In Edinburgh, we have the St Andrew’s Children’s Society which hosts the adoption register and has a long-standing and good reputation for excellence.

Scottish Adoption also does first-class work in the area. It was recently commended by the Care Inspectorate, which awarded it top marks across the board—it won praise for the range, variety and accessibility of the post-placement support that it provides. Post-placement support is really important, as is the sharing of knowledge, tips and experience among experienced fosterers and adopters and those who are looking to foster or adopt for the first time.

I again welcome the debate, and I appreciate the consensual approach that we have all taken. I look forward to progress being made so that more children in care can benefit from potentially being fostered and adopted.

I have one final point that I hope that ministers will take on board. It relates to teachers and their ability to identify children in their classes who are adopted and those who are young carers. I attended a young carers conference, and that issue was flagged up to all the MSPs who attended, but I have not seen anything since then about how we can move that issue forward.

I hope that the message that we can all take from today’s debate is that these children are everyone’s responsibility. We must make sure that we work to build the best possible life and future for them.