Education, Children and Young People Committee 10 September 2025
We have a record of all the engagement that we have had on the bill, the conversations that we have had and the information that we have provided. Our experiences are similar to David Mackie’s. With greater conversation during the process, we might have had a different product and a different bill.
The bill is a critical step in keeping the Promise. We are at the midpoint in the 10-year timeframe that was laid out by the independent care review when it concluded in 2020. The bill presents an essential step forward, but your reflection on what we said, convener, is absolutely right.
We applied four tests. The first is how anchored the bill is in the conclusions of the independent care review. Secondly, the bill certainly offers opportunities to speed up the pace and improve performance, but how likely is it to get us over the line in 2030? It is fair to say that we will need further legislation.
There are two other tests that Fraser McKinlay can speak to better than I can. One of those is whether the bill goes far enough in getting rid of some of the barriers that are in place, and whether that would possibly benefit from legislation or building on some of the bridges of good practice and changes to the system that have taken place.
There is another test. As many of you will remember, the care review involved 5,500 people, more than half of whom were care experienced. However, from all the papers and briefings that you have seen, you will know that the Promise has been made to more than 200,000 people. Many of the people who did not take part in the independent care review have come forward to talk about some of the challenges that they see in relation to implementation. It is important for this committee and for everyone else that we listen to the new voices that have emerged.
I have a final point that builds on Sheriff Mackie’s experience. He was appointed by The Promise Scotland—by me—to run a redesign based on the conclusions that the care review had come up with on the hearings system and what it needed to do. The care review produced “The Promise”, which was the main report, and “The Pinky Promise”, which was the one that was designed for children, as some of you may remember. I would like to see the bill pass the pinky promise test and, as David Mackie has said, for children and young people and the people who rely on the legislation to understand what their rights and entitlements are. I would like them to be able to read it and to recognise what is going on and what it means for them.
I do not know whether Fraser McKinlay wants to add anything.