Meeting of the Parliament 18 March 2026 [Draft]
I, too, thank the minister for her proactive engagement. Although we will not agree on everything this afternoon and evening, I appreciate the way in which she and her officials have reached out. I also thank all the charities and organisations that have helped to shape my thinking and decision making on the bill. With regard to my amendment 11, which is on kinship care, I especially thank Children First, Scotland’s national children’s charity, for its guidance on the amendment to ensure that it is child centred and appropriately measured.
It has become clear to me during this session of Parliament that kinship care is a wee bit of a Cinderella service in Scotland. Those of us who sit on the Social Justice and Social Security Committee had a number of sessions with people who are involved with kinship care. There are many issues that still need to be addressed, and the support that they require still needs to be provided by the Government and local authorities.
Amendment 11 would reframe the wording in section A1 of the bill regarding kinship care assessment needs to ensure that we remove any barriers that carers and children in kinship care arrangements might face. The premise of amendment 11 is simple: rather than the local authority having to offer to assess a person’s kinship care assistance needs, there would instead be a guarantee that an assessment will take place. That would take the potential postcode lottery out of the process and ensure that the needs of the carer and the child are assessed appropriately and without question.
In its submission to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the draft vision for kinship care, Children First stated that
“asking carers to apply for an assessment may become a hurdle, especially for those who are unaware of the option or find it difficult to ask for help.”
Kinship carers are the backbone of our care community: grandparents and other relatives who, at a time in their lives when they should be enjoying retirement and relaxation, are instead stepping up to support and raise grandchildren, keeping families together during difficult times. Those people deserve the full backing and support of our local councils to ensure that a full, trauma‑informed assessment of a person’s care needs is performed and that pathways to assist and support them are identified. Kinship carers should not have to ask for an assessment or wait for a council to offer one; an assessment should be given without hesitation or demand.
Amendment 12 follows on from that and would ensure that the kinship assessment is carried out within three months of the application being received. That would ensure that the assessment is timely and that families are not left waiting and struggling. It would ensure that appropriate support—whether financial, practical or professional, such as social work support—is put in place at the earliest opportunity, and it might prevent the kinship care arrangement from breaking down.
For so long, kinship care has been misunderstood, mismanaged and undersupported. My amendments 11 and 12 would go some way to ensuring that kinship carers are recognised, listened to and given the appropriate assessment of support to ensure that they can care for children to the best of their ability.
I move amendment 11.