Hansard

At the recent SNP conference, along with many others—about 3,000, I think—I was profoundly moved when the First Minister addressed the issue of care-experienced kids in Scotland. Those young people are entitled to the same fair and equal opportunities as every other young person in the country. In politics, we do not often talk about love, although we have heard the word a few times in the debate. However, the First Minister was absolutely right when she stated that care-experienced young people deserve to be loved.

There is no denying that the young people in the audience, who raised their red paper hearts, agreed completely that some care-experienced kids have, for years, deeply missed being loved. However, for them to be loved and for drastic change to be made in their lives, we must look at the facts.

As many members have stated, the statistics for young people living in care are deeply shocking: nearly half of five to 17-year-olds living in care are diagnosed as having a mental health disorder; 7 per cent of young people in care go from high school to university, compared to nearly 40 per cent of other young people; 50 per cent of prisoners identified as having been in care at some point in their lives; and 85 per cent of young people in care leave school before the age of 16.

I was particularly distressed when I read that last statistic because, if 85 per cent of care-experienced young people leave education before the age of 16, what chance does that give them to move on and make the life to which we are all entitled? The Government has been challenged with closing the attainment gap for all young people and no specific group should be left behind. Although the workplace is the right path for some young people, many of those who leave school early and enter apprenticeships should be going on to further and higher education to reach their full potential.

The initiatives mentioned in the motion will provide more stability for the lives of care-experienced young people, which in turn will drastically reduce that horrifying statistic of 85 per cent. No member can argue with that or the benefits that such initiatives will bring to the young people and, indeed, society.

In the short time I have been convener of the Education and Skills Committee, it has been my pleasure to work and have discussions with the charity Who Cares? Scotland, which my colleague Gillian Martin mentioned. Representatives of the charity have been to a number of education and skills events and have appeared before the committee. The work that its staff and the young people themselves are doing is deeply touching. I spoke to one young lady who said that, thanks to Who Cares? Scotland, she is looking forward to going on to further education and is so keen to be part of the changes in young people’s lives that she can see herself entering the field of politics—something that she would never have imagined for herself just a few short years ago. We need to see more of that.

The Who Cares? Scotland manifesto made a commitment to challenge the First Minister and the Scottish Government to alter the terrible outcomes for care-experienced young people. In setting up the adoption register, the Scottish Government has gone some way towards accepting the gauntlet that the charity threw down. As has been said, more than 300 families have now adopted children after being matched through the adoption register, and 69 per cent of those children are aged under five. It is worth noting that a key aim of Scotland’s adoption register is to increase the number of adopted children who are the most difficult to place, which takes us back to those care-experienced young people. I am delighted that the registry is bringing families closer together and reducing the amount of time for which potential adopters and children are waiting for a placement.

I have some experience of that. A few years ago, my partner and I thought about fostering or adopting, and we looked into it. Part of the reason why we did not go ahead was the complexity and the length of time that the process was taking, in particular for fostering, to move forward. Eventually, my partner and I decided—I suppose that it was more my doing than hers—not to go ahead with it.

The children’s social work statistics for Scotland show a further decrease in the number of looked-after children for the third consecutive year. That news is welcome, as is the 4 per cent reduction in the number of children on the child protection register, which has been supported by the 19 per cent annual increase during 2014-15 in permanence orders and orders with authority to adopt.

I am delighted that the Scottish Government, in order to build on those achievements, is working towards making the register available online to streamline the process even further. All those positive indicators and steps will go some way towards providing a strong, stable and loving family environment. That will lead children towards attaining at school and interacting with peers, which will equip them for successful adulthood and for whatever they wish to achieve in their lives.

The strategy, “Getting It Right For Looked After Children and Young People: Early engagement, early permanence and improving the quality of care”, reaffirms the Scottish Government’s commitment to the vision of a stable, loving childhood that prepares looked-after children for fulfilling adulthood by improving their outcomes. The strategy calls on the sector to accelerate progress by supporting families through early intervention that leads to a nurturing home and providing early permanence, with the benefits of the best care and support possible to increase the quality of care.

Maurice Corry—who I see is no longer the chamber—spoke about Bulgaria. When I was in South Sudan a number of years ago, I saw for myself the importance of somebody taking responsibility for caring for kids who had nobody else. South Sudan, which borders Uganda, experienced a civil war that involved child soldiers. One woman had 16 children, none of whom were hers—they were all orphans from the civil war. In South Sudan, the notion that a village makes a family really was the case. Everybody mucked in together, and people felt that they were one family. That is pretty much what society used to be like here, but it has become less so over the years. For me, that experience highlighted the importance of somebody taking responsibility and showing those children love and care. The children in South Sudan were benefiting hugely from that, as I saw when I visited the schools and colleges that the charity that I was with had helped to fund.

The legislation that we have in Scotland benefits not only care-experienced young people, but the wonderful potential parents across the country. There has been much talk in the Parliament about making Scotland a fairer place in which to live and thrive, but we can only really accept that fairness has been achieved if no child is being left behind. The statistics that have been discussed during the debate are truly some of the most shocking that I have seen. I am delighted—but not surprised—that all members are committed to supporting the motion and the amendment, and to supporting these young people to have the best start in life. Only then can we expect to see them flourish into happy, successful adults and become an integral part of Scottish society, which they are all capable of doing.