Continuing Care

Continuing Care is the continued provision of the accommodation and other assistance being provided by local authorities, under section 67 of The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, which inserted a new section 26A in the Children (Scotland) 1995 Act, immediately before the young person ceases to be looked after. Please see background notes for eligibility criteria.

Young people ceasing to be looked after during the year and entering Continuing Care

A total of 911 young people aged 16 years or over ceased to be looked after in a placement that falls under eligibility criteria for Continuing Care (i.e., kinship care, foster care, or residential accommodation). Of these, 261 or 29% entered Continuing Care after ceasing to be looked after (Table 1.7). Of those young people ceasing to be looked after during the year who were in eligible placements, the highest proportion entering Continuing Care were those in foster care (45%), followed by those in residential accommodation (30%), and kinship care (15%).

Table 1.7 Continuing Care eligibility and uptake during the reporting year

Number of young people aged 16 years old or over ceasing to be looked after with a destination of Continuing Care by placement type [Note 1], [Note 2], [Note 3]

[Note 1] Kinship placements include placements where young people are with family/relatives.

[Note 2] Foster placements include placements where young people are with foster carers provided by Local Authority or with foster carers purchased by Local Authority.[Note 3] Residential placement include placements in Local Authority home, in voluntary home, residential school, secure care, and other residential.

[Note 4] The total excludes a small number of young people who have entered Continuing Care but whose age or placement did not match eligibility criteria for Continuing Care (i.e., kinship, foster or residential).

During 2022-23, the proportion of young people ceasing to be looked after with a destination of Continuing Care increased slightly (8%) when compared to 2021-22 (7%). Of all young people ceasing to be looked after during the year with a destination of Continuing Care, the greatest proportion were in foster care (46%), followed by residential accommodation (35%), and kinship care (19%). Almost three quarters of young people ceasing to be looked after during the year with a destination of Continuing Care were aged 17 years (74%).

Table 1.8 Destination of Continuing Care by age and placement type

Number and percentage of young people ceasing to be looked after during the year with a destination of Continuing Care by age and placement type, 2022-23 [Note 1], [Note 2], [Note 3], [Note 4]

[Note 1] Kinship placements include placements where young people are with family/relatives.

[Note 2] Foster placements include placements where young people are with foster carers provided by Local Authority or with foster carers purchased by Local Authority.

[Note 3] Residential placement include placements in Local Authority home, in voluntary home, residential school, secure care, and other residential.

[Note 4] The total excludes those who have a destination of Continuing Care but whose final placement did not match eligibility criteria for Continuing Care (i.e., kinship, foster or residential).

Young people in Continuing Care as at 31 July

On 31 July 2023, 777 young people were in Continuing Care (Table 1.9), reflecting a 12% increase since 2022. Over half of young people in Continuing Care were aged 19-21 years old (56%), followed by a third (33%) who were aged 18 years old and a smaller proportion (9%) aged 17 years old. This pattern has remained broadly similar to that observed in the previous year. On 31 July 2023, 4,582 young people were eligible for continuing care, of which 777 young people were receiving continuing care (17%). This is a slight decrease in proportion of eligible young people in receipt of continuing care compared to the previous year where 696 (19%) were receiving continuing care of the 3,720 eligible.

Table 1.9 Continuing Care at year end

Number and percentage of young people receiving Continuing Care by age on 31 July [Note 1]

[Note 1] Young people aged 22+ are not technically eligible for Continuing Care but there may be some special cases.

On 31 July 2023, the rate per 1,000 young people (16-21 years) receiving Continuing Care was 2.1 – an increase from 1.9 in 2022 (see Additional Table 1.13)