Keeping The Promise to care-experienced young people

Progress made towards ‘Keeping the Promise’ by 2030 has been set out in a new report.

The Promise is the outcome of the Independent Care Review and is a commitment to bring about the necessary changes to ensure all care-experienced children in Scotland grow up loved, safe and respected, with the ability to reach their full potential.

The update report, ‘Keeping the Promise to our children, young people and families’, highlights the scale of work undertaken by the Scottish Government since 2022 to deliver the commitment by 2030. It follows the recent passing of the Children (Care and Justice) Act by the Scottish Parliament and associated measures, which include ensuring that no child will be placed in a Young Offenders Institution again. The new report directly informs the work of The Promise Scotland’s Plan 2024-30.

The report includes updates on:

• the launch of six Pathfinder and four Affiliate partnerships which aim to ensure that holistic, child-centred support is offered to children and young people in the justice system
• the introduction of the Scottish Recommended Allowance for kinship and foster carers, to date benefitting more than 9,000 families across Scotland
• changes introduced to transform the Children’s Hearing System
• work to introduce a £2,000 Care Leaver Payment

Minister for The Promise Natalie Don-Innes unveiled the report during a visit to the Young Scot head offices in Edinburgh to meet recipients of a share of the Promise Partnership Fund.

Ms Don-Innes said:

“Our commitment to The Promise is as strong today as it was in 2020 when we accepted in full all the recommendations of the Independent Care Review.

“Since then, we have taken strides in our work to keep The Promise and this report sets out clearly the scale of work and transformational change already undertaken to ensure all children in Scotland grow up loved, safe and respected.

“We know there is still much to do and such significant change takes time, but the Scottish Government will leave no stone unturned as we work with partners and stakeholders to ensure that the necessary transformation is in place by 2030.”

Background

The report updates on progress on commitments and actions set out in the Scottish Government Promise Implementation Plan which was published in 2022.

Young Scot, in collaboration with Children and Young People's Centre for Justice, received £125,000 through the £4 million second round of The Promise Partnership Fund.