Supporting young people leaving care in Scotland: regulations and guidance

4.1 The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 sets out the statutory duties for local authorities for young people leaving care. Under Section 29(5)(a) of that Act there is now a statutory duty for local authorities to carry out an assessment of the needs of all young people over school age leaving their care. This includes young people looked after at home, not just those provided with accommodation by the authority. Not all such young people will need the full range of services but the authority will need to be able to satisfy itself - and the young person - that they are providing the correct package of support. The provision of regular financial support should be limited to those who are under 18, have been looked after away from home for over 13 weeks since the age of 14 and ceased to be looked after over school age (see Chapter 8 below). However, each young person should have their circumstances considered before any decision is made, and the outcome of that decision should be recorded in writing and given to the young person.

Regulation 3(3) and 3(4)

Categories of young person

Regulation 2

4.2 In the Regulations the following terms are used to describe the different categories of looked after young people who are to be supported under these arrangements:

currently looked after person: a young person who is over school age but less than eighteen years of age and who is being looked after by a local authority. Under section 17(2) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, local authorities have a duty to provide advice and assistance with a view to preparing a young person for when they are no longer looked after by the local authority. That duty applies to all looked after children. The regulations specify the steps to be taken to prepare those who have passed school leaving age and are still being looked after.

compulsorily supported person: a young person to whom the local authority has a duty to provide support and assistance under section 29(1) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, that is a young person who has ceased to be looked after over school leaving age but who is under 19 years of age.

prospective supported person: a young person who has made an application to a local authority for assistance in terms of section 29(2) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, that is a young person who ceased to be looked after over school leaving age and is now nineteen or twenty years old.

discretionarily supported person: a young person to whom a local authority has agreed to provide support and assistance to in terms of section 29(2) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, that is a prospective supported person the authority has agreed to support.

Duties of the local authority to the categories of young person

4.3 The authority has a duty to perform a pathway assessment on all currently looked after, compulsorily and prospective supported persons. It also has a duty to provide a pathway plan and appoint a pathway co-ordinator for all compulsorily and discretionarily supported persons, and may provide a pathway plan and a pathway co-ordinator for currently looked after persons.

Regulations 6(b) and 8(1)
Regulations 4(1) and 11
Regulations 6(c) and 6(d)

Category of young person

Pathway
views

Pathway
assessment

Pathway
plan

Pathway
co-ordinator

Currently supported

Yes

Yes

Possibly

Possibly

Compulsorily supported

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Prospective supported

Yes

Yes

No

No

Discretionarily supported

No

No

Yes

Yes