Hansard

Thank you, Presiding Officer, for the opportunity to bring the debate to the chamber. As minister for the Promise, I have seen progress, listened to heart-warming stories and witnessed the energy and activity that are under way across Scotland to bring change. I have also listened to what needs to improve. I am delighted to have the opportunity for members to come together across the chamber to reaffirm the Promise that we all made, from every seat of the Parliament, to our children and young people with care experience.

The debate and the motion provide an opportunity for all members in the chamber to make clear to Scotland’s care-experienced citizens that each and every one of us has a responsibility to keep the Promise that we made to them four years ago. I welcome Martin Whitfield’s amendment to the motion, which upholds that core principle. The important thing when it comes to decision time this evening is that the Parliament comes together to reaffirm our commitment to the Promise.

On that note, I will start by addressing the children, young people, adults and families across Scotland with care experience. The Government is committed to ensuring that families receive the right support in the right way and at the right time. Both the First Minister and I are clear that keeping the Promise is not an ambition in isolation. It is aligned closely with our programmes of work to tackle child poverty and reduce the number of families in crisis.

I know that we need to keep moving to make change happen, and I know that we need to move faster in some areas. However, I also know that much work is under way and that there is an incredible drive across organisations, systems and our communities to bring the change that is required. I reassure members that progress is being made. I am committed to making that happen, and I am committed to working with you all to make it happen.

In that spirit of collaboration, I acknowledge all the people and organisations across Scotland who are focused on delivering change—our social workers, our teachers, our health workers, our emergency service workers, our volunteers, our local and national public sector, our third sector and our communities. Thank you—your commitment and hard work is evident, and it is so welcome. Let us keep going together.

I am sure that my colleagues across the Parliament are poised to provide the challenge that the chamber is so effectively designed for them to provide. However, let us keep in mind that, across the parties, we have all jointly committed to change, so we must move jointly in a solution-focused way to keep the Promise and build on its five foundations: voice, family, care, people and scaffolding.

In March 2022, the Government published a comprehensive plan that set out actions and commitments, and, in September this year, we published a detailed update on progress on each action. Since the publication of the Promise oversight board’s second report last year, there have been a number of developments, including the publication of “Plan 24-30” in June this year by The Promise Scotland.

I extend my thanks to Fiona Duncan, the independent strategic adviser on the Promise and the co-chair of the Promise oversight board, who continues to work hard with her team to set the route map for what needs to be done, by whom and when. Ms Duncan’s assessment that we remain on track to keep the Promise by 2030 furthers my confidence that we can do so and that, together, we will.

There is clear evidence that progress is being made. Indeed, early evidence demonstrates that there has been a 15.6 per cent reduction in the number of looked-after children in Scotland since 2020. Although I fully appreciate that that does not tell us the full story, it tells us that the system is changing. We are safely keeping more families together, and we are changing our approach to better meet the needs of children and families.

At the heart of that work is the whole-family wellbeing funding programme. For example, in South Lanarkshire, funding has supported the scaling up of centralised family support hubs, which have contributed to a more than 60 per cent reduction in the number of referrals to statutory services. That early support has avoided the need for crisis intervention.

For our children and young people who require to enter care, we know that, for some, that might be for short periods and that, for others, it might be for longer.

The Promise tells us that developing a universal definition of “care experience” will help more people to understand and relate to what it means to be a person with experience of care. That work is under way, and I thank Who Cares? Scotland, Barnardo’s and all the children, young people and stakeholders who are engaging in events across Scotland to inform it.

The contribution that is made by our kinship carers and by our foster carers and foster families, when it is not safe or possible for children and young people to remain with their birth families, is of the highest value. I reiterated that message when I met the kinship care advice services advisory group yesterday.