Hansard

I thank the minister for bringing this important debate to the chamber. I welcome the opportunity to reaffirm the commitment of Scottish Conservative members to the Promise. I would also like to apologise for the small error in our amendment and I thank the Presiding Officer and her team for sorting that.

We must never forget that not only was the Promise made and agreed by all parties in the Parliament, but that a promise was made to make tangible change to the lives of care-experienced people in Scotland. That is a promise that we must not break.

It will come as no surprise to anyone that the topic that we are debating is of personal interest to me. I have listened to many care-experienced people over the years, and it is just as important now that action is taken as it was 20 years ago, when my husband and I embarked on our journey to foster and adopt.

I note the tone of the motion, which we will vote for, but it would be remiss of me not to take the opportunity to express the concerns that have been raised by stakeholders—Ms Don-Innes is well aware that I take every opportunity to do so—about the lack of progress and time delays regarding implementation of various parts of the Promise, so I will do so in today’s debate. We rarely have a chance to debate the issue, so forgive me for taking the opportunity when it arises.

However, before I do that, it is only right and fair that I recognise the good work that has been done so far. There has certainly been a pivotal change in the way that children and families are supported. The drive to keep siblings together has meant that more and more young people are cared for with their brothers and sisters, which is a good thing. We know that attachment is essential to the building of strong relationships, and that such family bonds play a crucial role. I am looking forward to the remaining quarter, who do not stay with their family and are separated from them, becoming a thing of the past.

There has been a move towards redesigning the children’s hearings process. Although I have some reservations about whether the intentions will be met, it is right that we listen to children, families and care-experienced adults, and that we place them at the centre of decisions about their lives.

I want to raise concerns about the treatment of volunteers and the lack of transparency in relation to staffing decisions, which could be taken into consideration as part of the redesign process. With the increased role of children’s hearings, we must be mindful of the fact that everyone who gives of their time for the good of our children needs to be respected and offered the same protections as employees.

Even though there is a long way to go, it is excellent to see the shift in provision of support for young people who are moving on from care into adulthood. The understanding that corporate parenting, just like any form of parenting, does not stop when a person reaches 18 is a welcome shift towards supporting care-experienced adults, which should be applauded.

I thank the Promise oversight board for its continued work in ensuring that The Promise Scotland is continually assessed. It is concerning that the board has raised fears about a lack of focus. That sentiment is echoed by The Promise Scotland in relation to what more is required from the Scottish Government. I thank it for its briefing for today’s debate, in which it states:

“there needs to be a step change in pace and scale”.

I agree.

At a recent meeting with the Promise oversight board, I recognised its frustration at the lack of drive to achieve the remaining objectives, and its disappointment about the absence of the next steps for “Plan 24-30” and the dearth of grass-roots changes from “Plan 21-24” that will actively make immediate improvements for the experiences of those who are on the edge of care.

The oversight board correctly highlighted its concerns earlier this year, when it said that “Plan 21-24”,

“the strategic implementation of what needs to happen each year to achieve the Promise, will not be fulfilled”,

and it has concluded that the original aims of the plan will not be achievable by the end of the year. We are at the end of the year, and I fear that the oversight board was right.

It cannot be acceptable, as Who Cares? Scotland highlighted in its report from October 2024, that income gaps for care-experienced individuals have grown from 25 to 29 per cent to as much as 38 per cent, which amounts to nearly £10,000 a year. The issues are all still there, and they must be addressed. We must make sure that the same thing does not happen again when we implement the objectives over the next five years to ensure that the deadline of 2030 is met.

I would like to take a moment to look specifically at the whole family wellbeing fund, which was mentioned by Ms Don-Innes. That £500 million fund is to make on-the-ground support for families as accessible as possible. It is solely for projects in the community and will be in place until the end of this session of Parliament. It was even highlighted to me by the then First Minister, Ms Sturgeon—I am glad that she is in the chamber today—that that important fund is instrumental in keeping the Promise.

I note The Promise Scotland’s comments that

“There must be a renewed effort, building on the strong emphasis on whole family support in the recent Programme for Government, to ensure that all families are able to access emotional, practical, and financial support to stay together, wherever it is safe to do so.”

It is therefore concerning to find from a freedom of information request that most councils are currently using the fund to supplement their staffing requirements, which is not the purpose of the fund, and it raises concerns that the original objectives might not be met by the full funding allocation. It would be a pity if implementation were again to be the downfall of the project, so I urge the minister to look at how outcomes of the fund will be measured rather than look at money spent. The minister alluded to that in her opening remarks.

Barnardo’s highlights in its briefing for today that

“the Scottish Government’s Promise Plan Progress Update 2024”

says that the

“investment in the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund will remain static, and that the £500 million commitment will not be delivered by 2026.”

That is disappointing to hear. Although I understand the financial limitations—which the Scottish Government will undoubtedly mention—it is incumbent on this Government to put its money where its mouth is and to show its full commitment to keeping the Promise.

Presiding Officer, I realise the time, so I will wind up.

Who Cares? Scotland highlighted in its February report that 2023 had the highest levels of social worker absence due to sickness. In 2021, 65.2 per cent was the greatest rise in one local authority, and in 2023 the rise was 83.3 per cent in one local authority. That highlights a problem in social work in our local authorities. Each year, a different authority has the highest level of staff absence, which shows that it is a nationwide problem. The United Kingdom market rate average for employee sickness is 2.6 per cent, which demonstrates that there is an alarming crisis among social workers in our local authorities.

We know that we do not have enough social workers, and we know that the retention rate is low, with most newly trained social workers leaving the profession within four years. We also know that we cannot keep the Promise without them. I urge the minister to ensure that strategic leadership is at the forefront, moving forward.

I recognise the work that has already been done, but there is so much more that we need to do. Now is not the time to step back: it is the time to step up. I am up for the challenge. I am sure that the Government is, too.

I move amendment S6M-15205.2, to insert at end:

“; notes with concern the findings of The Promise Oversight Board’s second report, which raised doubts about Scotland’s progress towards delivering The Promise by 2030; acknowledges the February 2024 report from Who Cares? Scotland highlighting that in one local authority area over 83% of social workers experienced sickness-related absences in 2023; is concerned that local authorities lack adequate resources to ensure sufficient staffing, thus impacting support for care experienced children, young people and families; notes The Promise Oversight Board’s call for a focused approach to effective implementation, sufficient resources, and workforce recruitment and retention; understands that care experienced pupils are often removed from school to attend social work meetings and hearings, resulting in 1,304,088 days of missed school across 22 reporting local authorities; acknowledges Who Cares? Scotland’s October 2024 report, which found that income gaps for care experienced individuals have grown from between 25% and 29% to as much as 38%, amounting to nearly £10,000; highlights persistent health inequalities among care experienced people, who face greater risks of chronic illnesses like hepatitis, depression, lung cancer and heart disease due to adverse childhood experiences, and calls on the Scottish Government to ensure that funding reaches those in need to implement effective, empowering solutions for care experienced individuals.”