Government Heeds Warning From Children’s Charity

• Campaigners celebrate millions of pounds of support for Care Experienced people in Programme for Government
• Charity warned that without immediate change, Scotland risked a forgotten generation
• Pressure remains on Government for radical change to improve the lives of people in care
  

The charity Who Cares? Scotland has welcomed new policies announced today by the Scottish Government. If realised in full, the charity says that the policies will make a real difference to Care Experienced people.

The policies include better support for Care Experienced people who go on to be parents, new rules on dental health support and a removal of the upper age limit on the Care Experienced student bursary.

In June 2019, Who Cares? Scotland published their “We Don’t Have To Wait” report and called for these changes. Decades of data was analysed for the report and the charity said that despite a growing commitment across the board to making things better, the balance of power still hadn’t shifted from those delivering care. They warned that too many decisions are made on the basis of red tape and available resources, rather than what is best for young people.

Speaking on the release of the policies, Duncan Dunlop, CEO of Who Cares? Scotland said: “These new and enhanced policies, announced by the First Minister today, are very welcome.

“It is testament to the determination of the Care Experienced campaigners, who continue to fight for change, that this progress has been made. It is also evidence that the First Minister is genuinely listening to the Care Experienced people that she has been spending time with.

“Who Cares? Scotland has existed for more than 40 years, advocating for people who are or have been in care. We believe that there is a need for systemic change and a radical shift in how we care for young people.

“These policies mitigate and tackle some of the injustices that Care Experienced people face, but not all. That’s why we will continue to work with the Scottish Government and all other parties in the Scottish Parliament to make further progress.”