Meeting of the Parliament 19 March 2026 [Draft]
For probably the final time in this parliamentary session, I declare an interest in that my husband is a children and families social work manager and a registered social worker.
As I sum up on behalf of Scottish Labour, I put on record my thanks to everyone who has been involved in the bill process—in particular, my colleague Martin Whitfield, who was involved in something of a marathon last night as he sat on our front bench and pursued amendments, as did colleagues across the chamber, including the minister, with the support of the relevant officials.
During the passage of this bill, I have said many times that it is an opportunity as well as, at points, a risk, and I think that we are all reflecting on that this evening. As we have heard, it was this Government that brought together the care review and made the Promise. The Parliament agreed with the Promise and, together, we hold it. However, we must reflect that it is the Government of the day that has the power to set the direction and drive the change, and that will be true whoever forms the next Scottish Government when it comes to the progress that we make. As we have heard from several members this evening, the bill does not deliver the Promise and we still have much to do.
I want to recognise, as others have, what the bill does. I acknowledge the progress that, by passing this legislation, we will make in many areas—particularly advocacy, the right to return to care, UNCRC issues and kinship care—and I note the contributions that have been made by many colleagues in that regard. However, we should reflect on the reservations that have been outlined by the social work profession, COSLA and the Law Society of Scotland, and the reservations that have been raised throughout the process by care-experienced people and many others about what more we have to do in order to move forward and keep the Promise.
I join colleagues tonight in paying a warm tribute to Natalie Don-Innes. She inherited the Promise and the bill process as a minister, and I very much believe her when she speaks about how much the bill means to her. I saw that through the interactions that we had on the cross-party group on care leavers, when she was absolutely willing to sit there, front up and answer questions from those young people. Despite a very busy ministerial diary, crucially, she spent time with me on many an evening in this Parliament, engaging with care-experienced people. That speaks to the effort that she has put in.
I have been going round the doors in Bridge of Weir and Houston to solicit votes, and many folk have spoken to me about the respect that they have for the minister and the work that she has done locally. I am grateful that she is not standing as a candidate against me in the election, and I wish her all the very best for the future.
In reflecting on the conclusion of this parliamentary session and on the session to come, it is incumbent on us all, whether we return here or not, to reflect that the biggest danger in relation to the whole bill process and more widely is that a care-experienced person might feel that the Promise was made and people did what they could but then they moved on and the Promise remained undelivered. For too many people—this was at the heart of the care review—that has been the pattern and the story of their experience, and it is what they are seeking to fundamentally change. That should weigh on us all, whether or not we return to the Parliament in the next session.
We have much more to do. We will need more legislation and we will need more energy and dedication, but, like others have done tonight, I recommit myself and my party to the Promise and to ensuring that we drive forward its delivery.